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Hainan event deepens youth exchanges between China and ASEAN

ehainan.gov.cn | Updated: 2019-08-14

The 7th ASEAN-China Young Leaders Exchange Festival opened in Haikou, capital city of Hainan on Aug 13. The event serves as a platform for boosting the mutual understanding and trust of youths in China and ASEAN countries, as well as strengthening China-ASEAN friendship among young people in both regions.

During the festival, about 100 young leaders from ASEAN countries and Hainan embarked on a five-day exploration of Hainan cities, such as Haikou, Qionghai, and Sanya, through which they will learn more about the island and China, deepening the mutual friendship.

The exchange festival was proposed in 2012 by Gu Xiulian, director of the China Next Generation Care Working Committee and president of the China-ASEAN Association, at the 7th Conference on ASEAN-China People-to-People Friendship. The first edition was launched in 2013 in Beijing and subsequent events were held annually in different provinces across China, which functioned as key platforms for young leaders from ASEAN and China to conduct exchanges.

At this year's event, the young leaders from Hainan and seven ASEAN countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia will participate in special lectures, exchanges, visits, cultural performances, and sports competitions organized on the island province. They will learn more about Hainan's history, culture, and economy.

"I did not expect that Hainan had developed so well," said a youth from Malaysia. He is engaged in the sales business in Malaysia and this is his first time coming to Hainan. He said he wants to learn more about Hainan's culture through this event and bring this information back to his country to attract more Malaysian students to Hainan for study and exchange.

The ASEAN-China Young Leaders Exchange Festival has been held successfully for six consecutive years. It bears a significant meaning to host the event in Hainan this year, according to Wu Jiong, head of the East Asia Department of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

Wu noted that the achievements that Hainan made in its exploration of the construction of the Hainan Pilot Free Trade Zone and Free Trade Port fully demonstrated China's reform and opening up efforts. The ultimate goal for the event, which has remained the same for years, is to cultivate successors to promote China-ASEAN youth friendship and tighten people-to-people ties.

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The opening ceremony for the 7th ASEAN-China Young Leaders Exchange Festival is held in Haikou, Hainan on Aug 13. [Photo/hinews.cn]