China Daily Session at Asian Financial Forum on 14 Jan, 2014 (ENG)

Leading panelists discuss ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)opportunities

Seven panelists share their insights on AEC, business opportunities, challenges and strategic partnerships at the Asian Financial Forum - China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable co-branded workshop
14 January, 2014, Hong Kong – Major business opportunities, challenges and strategic partnerships between China and ASEAN with the upcoming AEC by the end of 2015 were highlighted and discussed at the Asian Financial Forum - China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable co-branded workshop held on Tuesday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable panel event was co-organized with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for the third year.
The new Chineseleadership attaches great importance to the cooperation and development with ASEAN nations, and has proposed plans to set up an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as well as “2 plus 7 Collaborative Framework” during their state visits to ASEAN countries. Under the theme of “Strategic Opportunities with the Upcoming ASEAN Economic Community”, this forum focused on political and economic hot issues, discussing fervently the challenges and opportunities that AEC will bring to China and ASEAN nations.
ASEAN nations, with a population of over 600 million, enjoy great development opportunities. However, they still suffer from disparities in such fields as socio-economic matters. To counter these deficiencies, the AEC Blueprint aims at achieving the eventual economic convergence that will create a level playing field for all member countries, said Zhou Li, the Chairman of this forum and the publisher & Editor-in-Chief, in his welcome address.
We are glad to have H.E. AmbNgurahSWAJAYA, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Indonesia to ASEAN, Indonesia; Mr. Anthony WU, Standing Committee Member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee & Director, Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, Hong Kong SAR, China; Mr. Roy KUAN, Managing Partner, Asia, CVC Asia Pacific Limited, Hong Kong SAR, China; Dr. LI Yao, Chief Executive Officer, China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund, China; Ms. Sinthya ROESLY, President Director, Indonesia Infrastructure Guarantee Fund, Indonesia;Dr. XIAO Geng, Vice President of Research, Fung Global Institute, Hong Kong SAR, China; Tan Sri Dr. Michael YEOH, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), Malaysia as distinguished panelists for this year.
To strengthen the cooperation between China and ASEAN nations is important for addressing the problem of trade, investment and tourism imbalance, said SWAJAYA. He pointed out that the increase of ASEAN’s exports to China showed the bilateral trade still had much room to grow. In addition, he added, the ASEAN’s foreign direct investment (FDI) into China far surpassed China’s FDI into ASEAN. Furthermore, the total number of Chinese Tourists visiting ASEAN countries is less than 10%. Therefore, SWAJAYA expects the intensifying bilateral cooperative relationship will benefit the whole development of AEC.
ROESLY said her own country Indonesia was an example for the intensification of infrastructure establishment to further attract foreign investors.
The Vice President of Research XIAO Gengsaid at the forum that free trade played a key role in driving economic development. In Xiao’s view, free trade helps the creation of values, including the value of human capitals and infrastructure, etc. Moreover, Hong Kong, as a free trade port, will play a positive role to the development of AEC.
The forum also talked about the opportunities and challenges that AEC will bring to China. On top of that, this forum covered the topic of strategic changes to business and investment environment because of AEC. Additionally, this forum offered a platform for an in-depth discussion covering numerous fields including banking, finance, insurance, infrastructure, logistics and tourism as well as about grasping business opportunities. Over 220 elites and professionals from financial, business and academic sectors participated in this top forum.

About China DailyAsia Leadership Roundtable
The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia Pacific. (www.cdroundtable.com)

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