January 2019 To March 2019: Chronology Of Events
- January 2019 To March 2019:Chronology Of Events
Resources for China–ASEAN Relations
As a research institute based in Singapore, the EAI monitors developments in relations and interactions between China and the individual countries of Southeast Asia as well as the ASEAN grouping as a whole. This material is presented in the form of (i) a chronology of events and (ii) important documents.
—the Editors
JANUARY 2019
11th The People's Bank of China announces a five-year blueprint to build China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region into a financial gateway to ASEAN. The plan aims to promote the use of the Chinese yuan among ASEAN countries, particularly in cross-border trade settlements, currency transactions and investment. It also encourages Guangxi's financial service sector to venture into ASEAN countries, and also invites qualified financial enterprises from ASEAN to invest in Guangxi. Apart from the central bank, the plan also involves 12 other Chinese governmental departments such as the foreign exchange regulator, the securities watchdog and the Ministry of Finance.
16th The 18th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Tourism Ministers is held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in conjunction with the 22nd Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers and the ASEAN Tourism Forum. The meeting notes that the APT region received 191.5 million international visitor arrivals in 2018. Around 30 million Chinese tourists visited ASEAN countries in 2018, up by 30 per cent from the previous year. There were approximately 22 million ASEAN arrivals to China, registering a 105 per cent increase. [End Page 196]
17th The Vietnamese Embassy in China holds a reception in celebration of the 69th anniversary of the establishment of China–Vietnam diplomatic relations. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends the event and holds a talk with the Vietnamese Ambassador to China Dang Minh Khoi on bilateral relations.
20th–23rd Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pays a state visit to China, and meets with Chinese top leaders including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Both sides issue a joint communiqué reaffirming Cambodia's opposition to Taiwan's independence. In return, China has promised RMB4 billion yuan in aid to Cambodia from 2019 to 2021. China also increases its import quota for Cambodian milled rice from 300,000 tons to 400,000 tons, and allows Cambodia to offset the tariffs imposed by the European Union. Both China and Cambodia also agree to increase bilateral trade to US$10 billion by 2023.
24th China and Vietnam holds the Plenary Meeting of the Governmental Delegation on Border Negotiation in Lao Cai city, Vietnam. The Chinese delegation is led by Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou and the Vietnamese delegation by Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung. Both sides recognise the positive outcomes of joint border management and joint exploration, and agree to continue improving the standardisation of border management and enhancing law enforcement cooperation.
On the sidelines of this plenary meeting, China and Vietnam foreign ministries also hold a bilateral consultation at vice-ministerial level. Both sides review the positive progress in bilateral relations in 2018, and affirm commitment to further advance the comprehensive strategic cooperation.
28th Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou visits Malaysia, and meets respectively with Malaysia's Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, former Chairman of the Council of Eminent Persons Tun Daim Zainuddin, and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dato' Sri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob. As 2019 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, both sides stand ready to jointly hold a series of celebration activities.
FEBRUARY 2019
15th–16th Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai hold an informal strategic consultation in Chiangmai, Thailand. It is the first high-level bilateral retreat between the two countries. China notes the blasting of rocks and reefs in the Mekong River as well as its impact on the Thailand–Laos borderline and the surrounding residents, and agrees to cooperate with Thailand to terminate [End Page 197] the project. Thailand reiterates its political will to promote linkages between the Ayeyawady–Chao Phraya–Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and China's Greater Bay Area development project.
16th–18th Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi...
