CPC, Southeast Asian parties to boost cooperation

Southeast Asian political parties and envoys pledged to work closer with the Communist Party of China to promote regional prosperity, participants in the CPC Dialogue in Political Parties of Southeast Asian Countries said on Thursday.

The event was the first of its kind involving the CPC and political parties of Southeast Asian countries after the recently signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, as initiated by the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC. About 40 parties participated.

The high-level dialogue is important, especially among policymakers of Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states and China, as it helps them share experiences in best practices, move toward decision-making in tune with each other and more coherently complement each other, Arthayudh Srisamoot, the Thai ambassador to China, said at the event in Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Thursday.

He said the signing of the RCEP is a good opportunity for all countries to reform and enhance their production capabilities in order to cooperate and compete with the global community.

Kishva Ambigapathy, a representative of the Malaysian Indian Congress, said the RCEP inspires the world to see Asia Pacific countries working together to contribute to a shared prosperity.

It is not only a partnership, but also a platform that can bring the best out of its members, he said via video at the event.

The event was held a day before the 17th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning. The expo, initiated in 2004, is an important platform to promote trade and bilateral relations between China and ASEAN member states.

Having forged cooperation over recent years, ASEAN and China are always interlinked and need each other in the future, said Sugiono, vice-chairwoman of Indonesia's Great Indonesia Movement Party.

China has shown its brotherly responsibility and leadership to help other countries, especially ASEAN member states, to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Sugiono said.

As economies have been greatly impacted by the pandemic, it's important to call for a stronger economic relationship between the two to help our people to regain strength, he said via video. "Jobs need to be available, purchasing power needs to be restored, markets need to be reopened and trade needs to flow again. We need to sit together, overcome differences and make decisions that will be mutually beneficial for all of us," he added.