China ASEAN think tanks jointly explore new opportunities in the 3.0 version of the Free Trade Area

The 2025 China (Guangxi) - ASEAN Think Tank Dialogue Forum opened on the 20th in Nanning, Guangxi. Experts, scholars, government representatives, and others from China and ASEAN countries jointly discussed how China and ASEAN can seize the opportunities brought by the China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and further deepen cooperation.

The forum, with the theme of "Smart Connectivity and Shared Destiny of ASEAN - A New Vision for China ASEAN Cooperation", focuses on in-depth discussions on major issues such as the evolution of the international situation, China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and industrial linkage, digital empowerment and AI cooperation, rule building and global southern cooperation.

Ong Shijie, President of Malaysia's Asia Pacific "the Belt and Road" Joint Policy Committee, said in an interview with China News Service that the digital economy, green economy, supply chain connectivity and other fields covered by the 3.0 version of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area upgrade protocol hit the key areas of ASEAN on the development path, and very much looked forward to its role.

Weng Shijie believes that in the fields of green economy and digital economy, Southeast Asia is a fertile ground that must be fought for by all military forces. In the future, China should not only focus on market development in cooperation with ASEAN, but also further optimize industrial chain cooperation and drive independent research and development among ASEAN countries.

Gao Zhikai, Deputy Director of the Globalization Think Tank, stated in an interview with China News Service that ASEAN is China's largest trading partner and the two sides are highly complementary economically. In the future, we should jointly promote interconnectivity, embrace new technologies, and achieve win-win development.

Gao Zhikai stated that in the past, when it came to connectivity, it mainly referred to infrastructure such as roads, ports, and airports. Currently, the rapid development of new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, and other fields brings new opportunities. China and ASEAN should work together to promote interconnectivity in communication, technology, finance, standardization, artificial intelligence, and other areas.

This forum is hosted by the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. During the forum, a roundtable meeting of the "Digital Silk Road" (China ASEAN) Think Tank Alliance was also held, and the "Nanning Initiative for Artificial Intelligence Cooperation of the" Digital Silk Road "(China ASEAN) Think Tank Alliance" was released. Sub forum discussions were held under the themes of "Intelligent Wave and New Quality Growth" and "Global Changes and Regional Cooperation".