JAKARTA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A stronger ASEAN-China partnership is necessary amid growing global uncertainty, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said Monday in Jakarta, calling on the two sides to deepen cooperation to promote peace, prosperity, and sustainable development in the region and beyond.
Kao made the remarks at the Jakarta Forum 2026, held in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership.
He said ASEAN-China relations have shown a consistent capacity to evolve and become more dynamic. China and ASEAN have remained each other's major trading partners, with bilateral trade exceeding 1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025.
Kao noted that geopolitical tensions are becoming more complex, economic fragmentation is accelerating, climate pressures are intensifying, and technological advances are outrunning many governance frameworks. Against this backdrop, he said, a stronger ASEAN-China partnership "is not merely desirable -- it is indeed necessary."
Looking ahead, Kao said ASEAN and China should focus on five priorities: peace and stability, digital transformation and innovation, energy cooperation, resilience against transnational threats, and people-to-people connectivity.
A more robust and productive ASEAN-China partnership must be forward-looking, practical, inclusive and people-centered, he said.
Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Wang Qing said in his remarks that China and ASEAN are close neighbors with a shared future, and only by pulling together can the two sides promote sound and steady development.
Wang said China and ASEAN should remain committed to openness and cooperation, accelerate the implementation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, build a more open regional common market, and enhance regional food and energy security as well as supply chain stability through mutually beneficial cooperation.
He called on the two sides to expand cooperation in the digital economy, artificial intelligence, climate response, clean energy, the blue economy and agriculture, so that all people in the region can benefit from inclusive development and modernization. ■
