China to advance modernization drive of Asia with ASEAN: foreign minister

China is willing to share development opportunities with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in jointly advancing the modernization drive of Asia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.

Wang, also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the statement while addressing the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with China held Friday in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.

Wang said that in recent years, the building of the China-ASEAN community with a shared future has made solid advances and effectively promoted common development.

China is willing to share China's development opportunities with ASEAN member states, support ASEAN states in embarking on a successful modernization path tailored to their national realities as well as historic and cultural characteristics, and jointly advance the modernization drive of Asia with ASEAN states, Wang said.

He pointed out that China will continue to firmly support a strategically independent ASEAN, support the greater development of an ASEAN-centered regional cooperation mechanism, and support the building of peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable homeland for China and ASEAN.

The two sides should speed up with the version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA), explore the development potential of emerging industries such as AI and financial cooperation, expand local currency settlement, according to Wang.

He noted that China is willing to be the first country to sign the Protocol to the Treaty on Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and support the establishment of the Southeast Asia nuclear weapon-free zone with practical actions.

Wang also elaborated on China's principled position on the South China Sea issue.

Other parties to the conference speak positively of China's efforts to promote peace and stability, support the series of global initiatives proposed by China, and highly appreciate China's strong support for ASEAN centrality and the fruitful results of practical cooperation between the two sides.

The parties said they are willing to give play to the effectiveness of the mechanism for cooperation between the two sides, complete the negotiations on the upgraded version of the China-ASEAN FTA at an early date, and deepen the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

They welcomed the important progress achieved in the consultations on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), saying that an agreement on a COC is expected to take place at an early date.

The parties expressed appreciation for China's willingness to take the lead in signing the Protocol to the Treaty on Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and said they are willing to work together to maintain regional peace and tranquility.

The "ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Joint Statement on Strengthening Humanitarian Mine Action Cooperation" was approved at the meeting.

China to advance modernization drive of Asia with ASEAN: foreign minister

China to advance modernization drive of Asia with ASEAN: foreign minister

China and Africa will ramp up efforts to enhance cooperation in the education sector, partly by launching multiple programs, according to speakers at a dialogue which brought Chinese and African delegates and representatives of UNESCO together in Beijing on Friday.

The China-Africa-UNESCO High Level Dialogue on Cooperation in Education and Cultural Heritage Protection, attended by more than 40 education specialists, issued recommendations on cooperation between Chinese and African universities, and announced the launch of five centers for China-Africa cooperation in fields such as Chinese language education, vocational skills education, and teacher training.

Delegates at the dialogue said the collaboration will help Africa develop its teaching capacity and empower its young people to close the skills gap, which is paramount for the continent's long-term development and prosperity.

"Africa has vast resources, both natural resources, but also even for human capital. It is a continent with generally a very young population. It's absent from a lot of these problems that the developed world is facing like aging populations and so on and so forth. But in order to turn these natural resources or natural talents into real, productive resources and real productive human capital, we need education," said Jin Li, director of the UNESCO International Center for Higher Education Innovation.

"As Egerton University, we stand to support a collaboration that is going to support capacity-building for our staff in the university, as well as postgraduate and undergraduate training for our students within Kenya and also the People's Republic of China," said George Ogendi, a professor at Kenya's Egerton University.

The African Union has set the goal of "well educated citizens and a skills revolution underpinned by science, technology and innovation" in its 2063 roadmap, aligning with the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which emphasize the importance of inclusive and equitable education, as well as lifelong learning opportunities for all.

On the sidelines of the dialogue, delegates stressed the importance of concrete actions for Africa to achieve its target.

"These are very important plans of Africa and the world for sustainable development goals. So for that, we need very good infrastructure. We need good infrastructure for information technologies. We need internet to be accessible by all. So the concerns expressed by delegates from Africa are very valid that unless we have such infrastructure available, the full benefits of education cannot be brought where it is needed," said Shahbaz Khan, director of the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for East Asia.

Noting that more than 60 percent of Africa's population is below the age of 25, delegates said that these young people could become a tremendous asset in driving sustainable growth on the continent if they are given access to quality education.

China, Africa to enhance education cooperation