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ASEAN, China aim for stronger ties at grassroots level
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Racing for unity: Participants of the ASEAN-China International Touring Assembly and the ASEAN-China Journalist Rally 2016 (CAITA) pose together after the closing ceremony of the event on Sunday in Jakarta. (JP/Bimo Raharjo)
ASEAN member states are aiming to enhance their collective relations with China by reaching out at the grassroots level.
The deputy secretary-general of ASEAN for community and corporate affairs, AKP Mochtan, said that the government-to-government cooperation between ASEAN members and China, which has been running for 25 years, had been well established. However, on the grassroots levels the ties needs to be strengthened, he said.
“Basically, a strong multilateral relationship is determined by the connectivity of its people. We have to ensure that this relationship reaches the people-to-people levels,” he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of the ASEAN-China International Touring Assembly and the ASEAN-China Journalist Rally 2016 (CAITA).
CAITA is one of the activities being undertaken to commemorate the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue. The event gathered 100 racers and journalists from ASEAN state members and China.
“This rally is a very good example of people-to-people exchange between ASEAN and China. I believe the racers can appreciate and better understand each other’s cultures,” Mochtan said.
The racers and journalists had departed from Nanning in China on Nov. 23 and travelled a route across major cities in Southeast Asia before finally arriving in Jakarta, covering a distance of about 10,000 kilometers.
“I believe that CAITA will achieve new heights of success, become a new brand of ASEAN-China cultural and people-to-people exchanges and make greater contributions to Chinese-ASEAN relations,” said Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Xu Bu. (fac/hwa)
