Youth leadership development program empowers development of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area

The China-ASEAN Youth Leadership Development Training Program was held from June 10 to 23 in China and attended by 29 young representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Participants in the program, which was initiated by the China International Development Cooperation Agency and hosted by the Secretariat of the China-ASEAN Expo, took theoretical courses on China’s national conditions and China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation, as well as measures and outcomes of the China-ASEAN Expo in serving the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. 

They also made field trips to the China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Center, signature projects of artificial intelligence (AI) and intangible cultural heritage and rural vitalization projects, all in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. In addition, they visited advanced manufacturing bases and AI industrial parks in Fuzhou and Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, where they had face-to-face exchanges with local experts and entrepreneurs.

This program featured lectures given by experts and scholars on topics such as China's AI development, the current landscape and future development trends of new quality productive forces in China, China-ASEAN high-tech exchanges and cooperation, and a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. Seminars were also held for participants to exchange views on the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the role and contribution of the China-ASEAN Expo in the endeavors. 

Participants of the program gained personal experience on the innovative practices of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in the fields of digital economy and green industries, and deepened their understanding on the alignment of regional economic and trade rules as well as of industrial chains. The program also promoted exchange and mutual learning between young leaders of China and ASEAN countries and was of great significance for promoting the high-level opening-up and inclusive development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.