BEIJING, Oct. 24, 2025 -- A report by China Report ASEAN

On October 21, 2025, the ASEAN-China (Beijing Municipal Administrative Center) Trade and Investment Promotion Conference took place at the Beijing International Fortune Center. With the theme of "Joining Hands for Green Development and a Better Future," the conference was supervised by China International Communications Group (CICG), and co-hosted by ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), Beijing Municipal Administrative Center Management Committee, Beijing Tongzhou District People's Government, and CICG Asia-Pacific Center.

Tang Wenhong, Deputy Mayor of Beijing Municipality, Chang Bo, President of CICG, Shi Zhongjun, Secretary General of ACC, Dato' Norman Muhamad, Ambassador of Malaysia to China, U Tin Maung Swe, Ambassador of Myanmar to China, Chatchai Viriyavejakul, Ambassador of Thailand to China, and Maubere Lorosae da Silva Horta, Ambassador of Timor-Leste to China, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. More than 100 Chinese and foreign guests, including diplomats from ASEAN countries in China, leaders of business associations and representatives of enterprises, attended the conference. Through the sessions of policy interpretation, project signing, and business matching, the conference established an effective platform for deepening economic and trade cooperation and green coordination between ASEAN and the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center.

Building Consensus on Green Cooperation

In his speech, Tang Wenhong pointed out that Beijing Municipal Administrative Center, as an important wing of the "one core and two wings" strategy for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, has enjoyed the policy advantages of a free trade pilot zone, and integrated national demonstration zone for opening up the services sector. In addition, it has 13 national-level green factories and a green energy fund worth over 10 billion yuan. It is also accelerating the establishment of a national-level green exchange, as a "model city" leading green development. He indicated that Beijing Municipal Administrative Center is committed to deepening industrial collaboration with ASEAN in new energy, energy conservation, and environmental protection, and jointly building green industrial and supply chains.

Chang Bo noted that China and ASEAN, as the second and fifth largest economies in the world respectively, are important engines for global economic recovery. The two sides have been each other's top trading partner for five consecutive years, as a successful example of regional economic cooperation. "We should work together to promote regional economic cooperation and development and jointly safeguard global trade stability," he said. The ongoing Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee will draw a more ambitious blueprint for China's future development and bring broader new development space for China's cooperation with ASEAN. We should deepen strategic synergy and promote the common development and prosperity of the region, strengthen open cooperation and set an example in practicing multilateralism, promote green development and jointly build a happy and beautiful home.

Shi Zhongjun emphasized that the chapter of "Green Economy" has been included in the 3.0 version of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, providing institutional support for bilateral cooperation in green trade, investment, standards, and other fields. In the future, it is necessary to further eliminate green trade barriers, and promote the circulation of high-quality technologies and products.

Norman Muhamad said that in the first half of 2025, bilateral trade between Malaysia and China has increased by 6.3 percent, and there have been 549 flights per week connecting 27 cities in the two countries. Malaysia can serve as a hub to facilitate the entry of Chinese enterprises into the ASEAN market with 680 million people.

U Tin Maung Swe introduced the development potential of Myanmar in clean energy such as hydropower and solar energy, and welcomed Chinese enterprises to participate in bilateral cooperation.

Chatchai Viriyavejakul informed that Thailand has set the "net zero" target ahead of schedule to 2050 with the plan to invest over US$88 million to upgrade its energy system. "Thailand looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in green technology and digital economy," he said.

Maubere Lorosae da Silva Horta talked about the opportunities brought about by cooperation and the role played by China. He stressed that China and ASEAN are each other's largest trading partners, providing opportunities for enterprises of both sides to connect.

Consolidating Cooperation Foundation with New Achievements

This promotion conference has achieved fruitful results, with breakthroughs in the three areas of industrial fund, project signing and initiation of green activities. At the session of promotion, Wu Kong'an, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Tongzhou District Committee and Deputy Mayor of Tongzhou District, made a presentation on the trade and investment environment of Beijing Municipal Administrative Center. With a history of over 2,200 years, the administrative center has developed into a modern new city with the integration of blue skies and green grass, urban streets and natural waterways. In the first half of 2025, the district's GDP grew by 12.5 percent year on year, ranking first among all the districts of the city. Meanwhile, the district has established a "3+1" core functional framework, with the accelerated formation of key industrial functional zones such as the Canal Business Zone and Cultural Tourism Zone. It has also launched the "Canal Talent" initiative and created a business environment with the lowest comprehensive cost, the highest approval efficiency, and the best administrative services, to provide a full range of support for the enterprises operating in the district.

Following the presentation was the launch of the China-ASEAN Industrial Chain and Supply Chain Cooperation Fund, which had been initiated by the China-ASEAN Industrial Chain and Supply Chain Alliance and Beijing Tongzhou Development Group Company. The fund will focus on supporting the implementation of projects in green manufacturing, cross-border logistics, and other areas. Witnessing this glorious moment were Zhao Quanyong, Business General Manager of CICG Asia-Pacific Center, Yuan Hang, Chairman of China Communications Information Technology Group, Yin Lu, Vice President of International Business, iSoftStone Information Technology (Group) Company, and Zhang Qianli, General Manager of Beijing Tongzhou Development Group Company.

At the session of Project Signing, the two sides reached consensus on three pairs of cross-border cooperation projects. Three Tongzhou-based enterprises signed cooperation agreements with their Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts, as well as the Australian China Chamber of Commerce. Their cooperation will focus on green agricultural trade, cooperative development of cultural and tourism integration projects, and technical cooperation in smart energy monitoring, covering the fields of economic and trade, cultural, and scientific and technological cooperation.

In addition, the CICG Asia-Pacific Center and Beijing National Institute of ESG jointly launched the initiative of China-ASEAN Enterprises Green Development Case Collection. They will explore and promote outstanding practice cases of green development from both sides to provide demonstration samples for regional green development.

New Momentum with Professional Sharing and Precise Matching

The session on Green Development focused on brainstorming and practical matching. Speaking at the session were Zou Fulai, Executive Vice President, Singapore China Association, Zhang Ziwei, Chief Representative for Asia Pacific, Institute of International Finance (IIF), Liu Kai, Academic Advisor (Vice President) of Beijing National Institute of ESG and Professor at School of Economics, Renmin University of China, and Mei Dewen, Chairman of China Beijing Green Exchange Company. They shared their insights with the audience on Singapore's green economy experience, cross-border green finance challenges and countermeasures, ESG research practice, progress in carbon market development, and so on. They also put forward the proposal to deepen the integration of green technology and finance to provide diversified ideas for bilateral cooperation.

The session of Business Matching in the afternoon focused on the three key areas of Green Development, Artificial Intelligence, and Industrial/Supply Chains. Through intensive one-on-one exchanges between ASEAN business delegations and enterprises based in the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center, the two sides reached a number of preliminary cooperation intentions, involving the export of photovoltaic modules, cross-border green e-commerce platform construction, joint low-carbon technology research and development, and other fields.

New Hub for China-ASEAN Connection

The success of this promotion conference has further strengthened the position of Beijing Municipal Administrative Center as a hub for China-ASEAN green cooperation. It has not only built a new bridge for economic and trade exchanges between China and ASEAN, but also defined the direction of cooperation in green development and industrial chain coordination.

Looking ahead, Beijing Municipal Administrative Center will continue to leverage the advantages of the national green development demonstration zone to deepen cooperation with ASEAN countries in green industries, finance, and culture, and jointly build the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership at a higher level. All parties will work together to address global climate change, green trade barriers, and other challenges, promote the circulation of high-quality technologies and products, build an open, fair, inclusive and win-win global green supply chain system, and inject new impetus into achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals.