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Joint Declaration of the PRC and ASEAN State
Leaders:
A Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity
8 October 2003, Bali
I. We, the heads of state/government of the
PRC and ASEAN members, reviewed the development of
bilateral relations in recent years. We agree that since
the issuance of the Joint Statement of the Meeting of
the State Leaders of the PRC and ASEAN in 1997, the
relationship between China and ASEAN has seen rapid,
all-round and in-depth growth and our two sides have
become important partners of cooperation.
(1) Politically, our two sides respect each other's
sovereignty and territorial integrity and choice of
development path. Guided by the spirit of the Joint
Statement of the Meeting of the Heads of
State/Government of the PRC and ASEAN Members in 1997,
China has signed separately with the 10 ASEAN countries
political documents aimed at developing bilateral
relations in the 21st century. In October 2003, China
joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast
Asia, which shows that political trust between our two
sides has notably enhanced.
(2) Economically, our two sides have continuously
strengthened contacts and exchanges for mutually
complementary and beneficial cooperation. Cooperation
has made steady progress in all areas, with priority
given to agriculture, information and
telecommunications, human resources development, two-way
investment and the Mekong River Basin development. In
2002, our two sides signed the Framework Agreement on
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, which launched the
process of the building of the China-ASEAN Free Trade
Area and advanced economic cooperation between the two
sides to greater scope and depth.
(3) In security, China and ASEAN have worked to actively
implement the concept of enhancing mutual trust through
dialog, resolving disputes peacefully through
negotiations and realizing regional security through
cooperation. With a view to securing peace and security
in the South China Sea, the two sides signed the
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South Chin
Sea and agreed to work for the ultimate attainment of
this objective. The two sides have also issued a Joint
Statement on Cooperation in the Field of Non-Traditional
Security Issues, conducted active cooperation on
transnational issues, and opened new areas of security
cooperation.
(4) In international and regional affairs, China and
ASAEN have engaged in productive cooperation. The two
sides have joined hands in promoting the sound
development of the ASEAN plus China, Japan, ROK (10 + 3)
cooperation, ASEAN Regional Forum [ARF], Asia
Cooperation Dialog [ACD], Asia-Pacific Economic Forum
[APEC], Asia-Europe Meeting [ASEM], Forum for East
Asia-Latin America Cooperation [FEALAC] and other
regional and trans-regional cooperation mechanisms. The
two sides have maintained good communication and
cooperation on issues of mutual interest and concern and
have rendered each other support and cooperation in the
United Nations, WTO and other international
organizations with mutual understanding.
II. We are pleased with the depth and scope of the
mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides.
We agree that China-ASEAN relations have seen important
and positive developments. Extensive and substantive
cooperation has been conducted in all areas of mutual
interest. The two sides stress that the growth of
China-ASEAN relations has important strategic importance
to peace, development and cooperation in the region, and
has contributed positively to world peace and
development.
III. The present-day world is undergoing complex and
profound changes. The strengthening of cooperation
between China and ASEAN, two important partners in the
Asia-Pacific region, will serve the immediate and
long-term interests of both sides and is conducive to
peace and prosperity in the region. To this end, we
agree that China and ASEAN should establish "a strategic
partnership for peace and prosperity."
IV. We declare that the purpose of the establishment of
"a strategic partnership for peace and prosperity" is to
foster good-neighborliness and friendship and strengthen
mutually beneficial cooperation by deepening and
expanding China-ASEAN cooperative relations in a
comprehensive manner in the 21st century, thereby making
greater contributions to long-term peace, development
and cooperation in the region. It is non-aligned,
non-military and non-exclusive and does not affect
participants from developing all-directional ties of
friendship and cooperation with others.
V. We reiterate that China-ASEAN cooperation will
continue to take the UN Charter, the Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the Five Principles of
Peaceful Coexistence and other universally recognized
norms of international relations as guidance on the
basis of the Joint Statement of the Meeting of the Heads
of State of the PRC and ASEAN in 1997 and other
cooperation documents the two sides have signed in
various fields.
VI. We agree that the China-ASEAN "strategic partnership
for peace and prosperity" is an all-round and
forward-looking relationship with emphasis on
cooperation in politics, economy, social affairs,
security and international and regional affairs. To this
end, we agree to:
(1) Political Cooperation
1. Strengthen high-level exchanges and contacts,
consolidate and deepen mutual understanding and
friendship between the people on the two sides, and give
more effective and fuller play to the role of dialog and
consultation mechanisms at different levels.
2. Proceed from the new starting point of China's
accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in
Southeast Asia to further strengthen mutual trust and
lay a solid foundation for bilateral relations.
3. Continue consultation on China's accession to the
Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear
Free Zone.
(2) Economic Cooperation
1. Give full play to the respective strength of their
markets and maintain the rapidly growing momentum of
their economic and trade relations in order to achieve
the goal of US$100 billion in two-way annual trade by
2005.
2. Accelerate talks on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.
Since the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is an important
pillar for economic and trade cooperation between the
two sides, efforts should be made to ensure its smooth
establishment before 2010 and assist new ASEAN members
(Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia) to effectively
participate in and benefit from the China-ASEAN Free
Trade Area.
3. Further deepen cooperation in key areas, such as
agriculture, information and telecommunications, human
resources development, two-way investment and the Mekong
River Basin development, and earnestly draw up and
implement medium- and long-term cooperation plans.
4. Support each other's endeavor for economic growth and
development. China undertakes to firmly support ASEAN's
efforts to narrow the development gap and to assist the
new ASEAN members in the exercise. To this end, China
will increase its input in the "Initiative for ASEAN
Integration" and support cooperation at sub-regional
levels, including the East ASEAN Growth Area of Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the East-West
Corridor and the "Growth Triangle" of Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam. ASEAN is also prepared to participate in
China's western region development.
(3) Social Cooperation
1. Implement the spirit of the Special Meeting of
China-ASEAN Leaders on Atypical Pneumonia, which was
held in April 2003, and strengthen cooperation in public
health. A 10+1 public health cooperation fund will be
established and the 10+1 health ministers' meeting
mechanism will be launched.
2. Further enliven exchanges in science, environment,
education and culture, as well as personnel exchanges,
and improve mechanisms of cooperation between the two
sides in these areas. Efforts will also be made to
enhance tourism cooperation and deepen understanding and
friendship between the peoples of different countries.
3. Attach importance to and strengthen youth exchanges
and cooperation and establish a 10+1 youth ministers'
meeting mechanism to broaden the basis for everlasting
friendship between the two sides.
(4) Security Cooperation
1. Expedite the implementation of the Joint Statement on
Cooperation in the Field of Non-Traditional Security
Issues and actively expand and deepen cooperation in
these areas.
2. Hold China-ASEAN security-related dialog at an
appropriate time to enhance mutual understanding and
promote peace and security in the region.
3. Implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the South China Sea, and discuss and plan the
concrete modes, areas and projects of follow-up actions.
(5) Cooperation in International and Regional Affairs
1. Cooperate on major regional and international issues
for the maintenance of regional peace and stability, and
maintain the authority and central role of the United
Nations.
2. Maintain close coordination and cooperation within
the framework of ARF and promote its healthy
development. China supports ASEAN's role as the primary
driving force of ARF and its commitment to move the
overlapping stages of ARF at a pace comfortable to all.
3. Make ASEAN plus China, Japan and ROK (10+3) the main
channel to move forward cooperation and regional
economic integration in East Asia and Asia as a whole so
as to promote sustainable development and common
prosperity in the region.
4. Further promote ACD, APEC, ASEM, FEALAC and other
regional and trans-regional cooperation schemes.
5. Work for free and fair trade worldwide as well as a
well-balanced development of economic globalization.
China strongly supports an early WTO membership for the
Laos People's Democratic Republic and Vietnam.
6. Respect the diversity in the Asia Pacific region,
especially the differences in development path, security
concerns, values and cultural traditions of the
countries in the region, and make a joint effort to
create an environment of tolerance and openness for
cooperation and development in the region.
7. Have a periodic review of the present Joint
Declaration when necessary, taking into consideration
the rapid development in the region and in the world.
In pursuance of these, we sign the Joint Declaration of
the Heads of State of the PRC and ASEAN.
Done on the Eighth Day of October in the year 2003 in
Bali, Indonesia.
(Signed) Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the
PRC
(Signed) Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei
Darussalam
(Signed) Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of
Cambodia
(Signed) Megawati Sukarnoputri, President of the
Republic of Indonesia
(Signed) Boungnang Vorachith, Prime Minister of the
People's Democratic Republic of Laos
(Signed) Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of
Malaysia
(Signed) Khin Nyunt, Prime Minister of the Union of
Burma
(Signed) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the
Republic of the Philippines
(Signed) Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of the Republic
of Singapore
(Signed) Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the
Kingdom of Thailand
(Signed) Phan Van Khai, Prime Minister of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam
Xinhua Domestic Service
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin
Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the
opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or
its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by
MIIS.
