Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed confidence in promoting cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as his country will officially assume the chair of the ASEAN on January 1, 2025.
Earlier, Malaysia said it will place inclusivity and sustainability at the forefront of its chairmanship of the ASEAN.
As Malaysia assumes ASEAN chairmanship, Prime Minister Anwar stressed that he will prioritize effective collaboration to strengthen the region's unity, he said during the interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Beijing.
"Our focus for ASEAN would include, of course, political stability, effective collaboration between countries, even dealing with somewhat more precarious or contested issues," he said.
In October, leaders of China and ASEAN countries announced substantial conclusion of Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) upgrade negotiations at the 27th China-ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane, Laos.
It is expected to pave the way for one of the world's most populous and robust FTAs to play a bigger role in boosting regional development amid rising global protectionism.
Anwar said that his country has been accelerating the promotion of the signing of the 3.0 upgrade protocol and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.
"We have now accelerated the process. Meetings among officials is ongoing. And we are quite confident that we could cement that sort of understanding by next year. We happen to be, other than ASEAN, we are also the country coordinator between ASEAN and China. So, we will do whatever is necessary, not only to facilitate but to accelerate the process. And therefore I am quite optimistic," he said.
Malaysian PM confident in enhancing China-ASEAN cooperation
China's National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) immersed the audience in colorful cultural experiences with 15 performances and 50 activities in a recent art festival celebrating the 17th anniversary of the center. The audience admired charming symphony concerts, experienced intangible cultural heritage handicraft making, and participated in interactive performances during the festival. Exquisite performances like dance flash mobs, Yunnan intangible cultural heritage song and dance performance and accordion quintet were staged at the open areas, along with complementing activities such as the book fair, cultural and creative fair, and intangible cultural heritage skill demonstrations. "We will also organize workshops, jazz performances and other activities, along with some surprise events for the audience to explore, like behind-the-stage visits," said Zhu Jing, deputy director of the NCPA. This year's art festival featured a specially designed event, enabling the audience to experience the technological power behind artistic creation through programs using 360-degree photography, AI composition and AR animation. "For example, we launched the 'Everyone can be a conductor' program this year, using the motion sensing technology and music mapping technology. Through the application of artificial intelligence, ordinary audience members are able to step onto the conductor's podium and experience what it's like to be a conductor themselves," said Sheng Lei, an exhibtion planner at the NCPA. In 2024, NCPA's 11 theaters have hosted 1,200 performances, reaching new heights of performance scale. Since its establishment 17 years ago, the NCPA has created 112 plays, with over 14.2 million audience members watching the performances at the venue.
NCPA stages performances, activities to enrich cultural experiences for audience
