China-ASEAN at 35: What keeps the partnership moving forward

Nanning City, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is ready to welcome guests from across China and ASEAN as the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo gets underway on Thursday.

The event comes as China and ASEAN mark the 35th anniversary of their dialogue relations and the fifth anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Over the past three and a half decades, China and ASEAN have built one of the most dynamic and substantive examples of regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.

What has kept the partnership moving forward amid a changing global landscape? Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that China and ASEAN have "explored a bright path of good-neighborliness and win-win cooperation, taken strides toward building a closer community with a shared future and made important contribution to the cause of human progress." From dialogue to deeper strategic trust The relationship has steadily evolved from dialogue to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

China and ASEAN began their dialogue process in 1991.

China became an ASEAN full dialogue partner in 1996, and the two sides established a strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in 2003.

In 2021, they announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Head-of-state diplomacy has played an important role in building mutual understanding.

Since 2013, Xi has visited ASEAN member states on multiple occasions, while leaders from across the bloc have also made frequent visits to China.

These interactions have helped strengthen strategic trust and provided political guidance for practical cooperation.

In 2025, China and ASEAN adopted the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for 2026-2030, setting out a roadmap for deeper cooperation in the years ahead.

From trade to connectivity, cooperation delivers For China and ASEAN, cooperation is not an abstract concept.

It is a shared priority reflected in trade, investment, infrastructure and industrial cooperation.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, bilateral trade exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in 2025, reaching $1.05 trillion, up 7.4% year on year.