JAKARTA, 30 March 2026 – ASEAN and China reaffirmed their shared commitment to further advancing the strong and dynamic cooperation under their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) at the 27th Meeting ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee (ACJCC), held today at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat.
China reaffirmed its support for ASEAN Community-building efforts and ASEAN Centrality in regional affairs. China underscored that it continues to place high priority on its relations with ASEAN as part of the country’s neighbourhood diplomacy.
During the meeting, both sides took note of the completion of the Plan of Action (POA) (2021–2025) and its Annex to advance the CSP, which recorded substantial progress across the three pillars of the ASEAN Community.
The Meeting further noted the ongoing implementation of the ASEAN-China POA (2026–2030), which commenced January this year, as a key framework for strengthening cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Under the current POA, ASEAN and China will continue to enhance cooperation across a wide range of areas such as transnational crime, science and technology, artificial intelligence (AI), agriculture and food security, tourism, education, public health, media, and disaster management.
Both sides further highlighted the significance of 2026 as the ASEAN-China Year of the fifth anniversary of the CSP, which provides an opportunity to take stock of achievements and explore the way forward. In this regard, both sides looked forward to activities and initiatives to commemorate the milestone, with a view to further strengthening ASEAN-China relations.
The meeting also discussed practical cooperation and highlighted a number of areas to make the partnership more substantive, meaningful and mutually beneficial, including strengthening trade and investment through effective implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) 3.0 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, enhancing supply chain resilience, promoting energy security, advancing AI and digitalisation, and expanding people-to-people exchanges. The meeting also noted China’s proposed deliverables for this year to further enhance the partnership.
The 27th ACJCC Meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Sarah Al Bakri Devadason, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN, and H.E. Wang Qing, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to ASEAN. It was attended by the Permanent Representatives to ASEAN or their respective representatives, along with their delegations, as well as representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat.