On 17 March 2015, the Working Group Meeting of the Joint Executive Board (JEB) of ACC was held at the ACC Secretariat in Beijing. The purpose of the Meeting was to deliberate on the mid-term review of ACC’s work since its inception in 2011 in line with the decision made at the 4th Joint Council (JC) Meeting of ACC in December 2014, and seek inputs and suggestions from the JEB members on how to further improve ACC’s work in response to the new situation of ASEAN-China relations. Members of the JEB of ACC, including representatives from ASEAN Embassies in Beijing, and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended the Meeting.
Ms. Huang Ying, ACC Acting Secretary-General and Director of General Affairs and Coordination Division (GACD), extended a warm welcome to the JEB members, and expressed sincere thanks to the JEB for their strong support to ACC during the past three years. She stressed that as ASEAN-China relations enter the Diamond Decade, it was timely to conduct the mid-term review of ACC’s work so as to better align ACC’s work with the new development of the time. ACC prepared a Draft Comprehensive Report of ACC for ACC Mid-Term Review (2012-2014) and a Paper Compiling Suggestions of ACC Secretariat for ACC Mid-term Review (2012-2014), and was keen to seek valuable views and inputs from the JEB for the two documents.
Mr. John K. Samuel, Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) of the Malaysian Embassy, as the co-chair from ASEAN, thanked ACC for organizing the Meeting, and expected that constructive comments from the JEB during the Meeting will be for the betterment of ASEAN-China relations.
Ms. Fang Bing, Deputy Director of the Asian Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, acknowledged the hard work and efficiency of ACC to prepare the insightful reports. She was of the view that ACC is at a critical milestone point of development, suggested ACC’s work shall be better aligned with the strategic goals set forth by China to build the ASEAN-China Community of Common Destiny, “2+7” Cooperation Framework and the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century.
Then the floor was open to the Directors of ACC to brief on the work of each Division. Mr. Li Yuan, Director of Trade and Investment Division (TID), Mr. Tri Purnajaya, Director of Education, Culture and Tourism Division (ECTD), Ms. Lada Phumas, Director of Information and Public Relations Division (IPRD), and Ms. Huang Ying, ACC Acting Secretary-General and Director of GACD, briefed on the major achievements, outcomes, experiences and lessons learnt, new situation and suggestions in line with the submitted Comprehensive Report. The 4 Directors also highlighted the suggestions from their respective divisions as appeared in the Paper Compiling Suggestions submitted for JEB’s consideration.
The JEB applauded the good work of ACC and made useful suggestions, some of which were the following:
In the areas of trade and investment, it was suggested that ACC carry out capacity building projects for business professionals to raise awareness about the benefits and potential of CAFTA policies. ACC would continue to make full use of such existing mechanism as CAEXPO to expand markets for ASEAN and China, and strive to balance trade and investment between both sides.
In the areas of education, culture and tourism, it was suggested that more resources continue to be devoted to CLMV countries in ACC’s projects, and ACC was to engage more with ASEAN countries in carrying out joint projects between the two sides. To organize activities which encompassed all ASEAN countries such as the ASEAN Night at the same time was highly recommended.
In the areas of information and public relations, some JEB members supported in principle IPRD’s recommendations to expand the existing five priority areas of ACC to six to include information (or media). They also supported for ACC to reach out more to the general public, and interact more closely with the media, and make use of the local platforms to introduce the developments of ASEAN-China relations as well as raise the profile of ACC.
In general affairs and coordination, some JEB members suggested that the Comprehensive Report should equally reflect strategic targets set by both ASEAN and China, including the realization of ASEAN Community in 2015 and ASEAN Post-2015 Vision. ACC shall maintain equal balance of its roles as information centre and activities centre through inter alia establishing a comprehensive data bank in trade, investment, education, culture and tourism. ACC is encouraged to conduct more contact and exchanges with the Chinese local governments. Some JEB members suggested ACC was encouraged to engage with JEB on a more regular basis.
Acting Secretary-General Huang Ying thanked JEB members for their valuable inputs and suggestions. Besides, ACC Directors responded to the inquiries on their respective work as posed by the JEB members during the discussion.
The Working Group Meeting of the JEB was held in a constructive and friendly manner. The Meeting served as a preparation for the upcoming brainstorming session for the mid-term review of ACC’s work.
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