China-ASEAN youth camp and summit end in Beijing

The closing ceremony of the 11th China-ASEAN Youth Camp and fourth China-ASEAN Youth Summit was held in Beijing on Monday.

Lim Qin Yong, secretary-general of the event, read out selected clauses from the "China-ASEAN Youth Declaration" on behalf of all delegates, and formally submitted it to the representatives of the China-ASEAN Center, the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Peking University.

Jointly voted by the 11 representatives from China and 10 ASEAN countries, the declaration covers five areas: regional security, economy and trade, innovation and technology, environmental resources, and youth affairs.

"This event has provided an opportunity for young scholars from all walks of life to explore and contribute to the development of China-ASEAN relations," said Chen Dehai, secretary-general of the ASEAN-China center.

Chen also expressed his hopes for pragmatic cooperation between all parties to promote broader cooperation, bring youth exchanges to greater heights, and contribute to the building of a shared ASEAN-China community.

"China-ASEAN relations are entering a new stage of holistic development. There is a strong momentum for cooperation in various fields," said Zhang Jinfeng, former Chinese ambassador to Cambodia.

"Going forward, our youth will always be the builders, pioneers, and defenders of the China-ASEAN regional community," Zhang added.

More than 160 participants from China and Southeast Asian countries participated in the eight-day event, during which they also visited the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the National Museum of China and Chinese startups, such as ByteDance and the Beijing Genomics Institute.