The Prime Minister reiterated the importance of public health security, multilateral trade system, ASEAN-China cooperation on digital economy and supported the designation of 2021 as the ASEAN-China Year of Sustainable Development Cooperation. He also called upon all countries to “seek common grounds and set aside differences” towards win-win cooperation.

On 12 November 2020 at 13:00 hours, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, attended the 23rd ASEAN-China Summit via videoconference. The meeting highlighted the importance of cooperation in response to COVID-19 and economic recovery, as well as ways to enhance ASEAN-China cooperation as strategic partners. ASEAN appreciated China’s contribution of 1 million USD to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund and looked forward to China’s support on the implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework. ASEAN also appreciated China’s commitment to make the COVID-19 vaccine a “global public good” and that ASEAN will be the priority for allocation of those vaccines. China emphasised that the COVID-19 vaccine is currently the most important issue and China will further create programmes under the ASEAN-China public health cooperation initiative.

The Prime Minister proposed ways for the region to bounce back better by charting the future together, as follows:

1) On the future of public health, he proposed that ASEAN and China should enhance cooperation on public health security both at regional and global levels. Thailand expressed its readiness to cooperate in developing medical personnel, science, technology and related innovation, as well as research, development and production of medicines, which will be distributed to other countries in the region, on the basis of Thailand’s high potential in medicine and quality public health infrastructure.

2) On the future of economy, he proposed that ASEAN and China should cooperate in building resilience based on close economic interdependence, adhere to a free and open multilateral trading system and discuss ways to facilitate safe international travel, in order to ensure economic recovery alongside effective response to the pandemic.

The Prime Minister took the opportunity to emphasise the need to build on the success of the ASEAN-China Year of Digital Economy Cooperation by focusing on capacity building of MSMEs, start-ups and local entrepreneurs, which are the growth engines of grassroots economy, to ensure their access to appropriate finance facility and equip them with necessary skills.

3) On the sustainable future, he proposed that ASEAN and China should promote sustainability in all dimensions, which was Thailand 's priority during the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2019. Prime Minister joined in the designation of 2021 as the ASEAN-China Year of Sustainable Development Cooperation. As the ASEAN Coordinator for Sustainable Development Cooperation, Thailand will continue to build on cooperation in this matter towards concrete outcomes.

4) On the secured future, he suggested all parties concerned to “seek common grounds and set aside differences”, exercise self-restraint, avoid confrontations and turn to dialogue with a view to promoting mutual strategic trust. Thailand is committed to promote win-win cooperation, such as on marine environmental protection, and continue negotiations towards the COC that is effective, substantive, and consistent with international law.

The Meeting also adopted the ASEAN-China Plan of Action 2021-2025.