The honorable Prospero C Nograles, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines, addressed the issue in particularly forceful manner. "The global crisis is imminent," he said, "and this is the only current international event jointly sponsored by its participants at governmental level. This is right, because as the crisis hits the developed economies, China and the ten member countries of ASEAN must strengthen their bonds to cope with the effects of the crisis."

"10 + 1 > 11" is the theme of this year's China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and China-ASEAN Business Summit (CABIS), and the participants seem determined to ensure that it is more than just a slogan and an aspiration. [China.org.cn]

There were plenty of specifics to back up the message. His Excellency Mr. Hoang Trung Hai of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam pointed out that bilateral trade with China--amounting to US$15 billion in 2007, has already reached US$11 billion in the first six months of 2008. China has over 600 individual investment projects currently running in Vietnam.

Dr. Panitchpakdi highlighted other key figures: While China is a major beneficiary of investment from the financially powerful Singapore--now China's seventh-largest source of FDI, China itself is the biggest foreign investor in Laos and Cambodia. China's overall investment in the countries of ASEAN has multiplied fourfold in the last four years, from US$1 billion to US$4 billion. He urged that future attention should focus on infrastructure--the spring from which other development will flow--as much as on manufacturing and services.

On behalf of China, Vice Premier Wang Qishan concluded with a wide-ranging speech to the Summit, covering first the momentous events of 2008 in China, both the triumphs and the tragedies. He made reference to the winter storms, followed by the terrible earthquake in May, and then the happier period of a successful Olympics that allowed China and the broader Asian region to show the world that they are ready and willing to take their place at the top table. He concluded with a tribute to Shenzhou VII, China's first manned mission that included a walk in space.

But all this was as a prelude to the Vice Premier's main message--that economic storms are forecast, and that the countries of ASEAN and China must navigate them together. He enumerated four specific areas on which the future of the ASEAN-China relationship will focus--deeper cooperation on trade and industry, development of the Beibu Gulf area that is a key geographical feature that many of the ASEAN members share with China, better use of formal mechanisms like CABIS and CAEXPO to strengthen ties and build relationships, and above all a common determination to see the challenges of the future as obstacles to be overcome rather than barriers to progress.

(China.org.cn by David Ferguson October 24, 2008)