To further expand cultural exchanges, enhance mutual understanding and build a closer ASEAN-China community with a shared future, ASEAN and China jointly designated 2024-2025 as the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges. Over the past two years, more than 160 high-level, productive and popular exchange events have been held by ASEAN countries and China, strengthening cultural affinity and people-to-people bonds between the over two billion people, and generating extensive social and economic benefits. By promoting mutual learning among civilizations,these activities have laid a solid public and social foundation for deepening the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, for implementing the Global Civilization Initiative, and for building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home.

In February 2024, under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Fujian Provincial People's Government successfully held the opening ceremony of the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone sent congratulatory letters and Chinese State Councilor Shen Yiqin and Lao Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune attended the event, getting the Year of People-to-People Exchanges off to a good start. Over the past two years, government departments, civil societies, businesses, academia and local governments from both sides conducted extensive exchanges and cooperation in fields including youth, education, culture, tourism, people's livelihood, media, and science and technology, achieving the goal of “new activities every week and new highlights every month” and yielding fruitful results. The main outcomes span the following 10 areas:

1. Youth Exchanges

Youth exchanges picked up steam. The ASEAN-China Youth Art Education Achievement Exhibition attracted young people from both sides to create artistic works reflecting the vibrant friendship between ASEAN and China. Programs such as the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Exchange Festival and the ASEAN-China Youth Campus brought together thousands of young people from ASEAN countries to explore and learn about a real, multi-dimensional and comprehensive China. During the 11th ASEAN-China Young Leaders Exchange Festival, young people from ASEAN countries were specially invited to participate in the World Youth Conference for Peace in Beijing, and issued the World Youth Peace Initiative. The ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship expanded its enrollment.

2. Education Cooperation

Education cooperation yielded fruitful results. The ASEAN-China Education Cooperation Week, the flagship intergovernmental platform for education cooperation, facilitated the signing of 2,203 agreements and the establishment of 26 ASEAN-China education alliances and 24 cooperation centers. The Chinese language boom, vocational education boom, digital education boom, and e-commerce training boom continued to gain momentum year after year. A series of forums and initiatives,including the ASEAN “Chinese Language+Vocational Skills” Education Development Symposium, the ASEAN Chinese Education High-level Forum, and the Southeast Asia STEM Training Program, have been launched with the aim of enhancing ASEAN’s level of education and workforce competitiveness. They have brought education cooperation between ASEAN and China to new levels, and received wide acclaim from ASEAN countries.

3. Cultural and Sports Exchanges

Cultural and sports activities created fresh excitement. The ASEAN-China Theatre Week created a vibrant environment for theatre enthusiasts to interact with one another and for the public to share the fruits of theatrical development. The 2025 Fujian Asia Pacific Music Festival connected people’s hearts with music. The 2025 ASEAN-China Sepak Takraw Invitational Tournament made Sepak Takraw, a traditional ASEAN sport, well-known and popular among the Chinese. Upcoming events like the ASEAN-China International Kayak Open Tournament and the ASEAN-China International SUP Open are expected to generate enthusiasm among water sports fans and the young people.

4. Tourism and Connectivity

Cross-border exchanges steadily resumed. Exchange activities on tourism such as the ASEAN-China Cross-Border Tourism Dialogue and the ASEAN-China Forum on Tourism Security Cooperation were held. A Cloud Tour of ASEAN organized by the ASEAN-China Center (ACC) with AI technology enabled Chinese people to tour ASEAN and experience local cultures via the Internet, and encouraged more Chinese to travel to these neighboring countries. From January to August 2025, over 25.244 million visits were made between people from ASEAN countries and Chinese mainland residents, an 11.2% increase year-on-year. Scheduled passenger flights between ASEAN and China averaged 2,552 per week, up 8.3% year-on-year, accounting for 38.6% of China's total international passenger flights. Mutual visa exemption for diplomatic and service passport holders now applies between all ASEAN countries and China. Full mutual visa exemption has been established between Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and China. Brunei and China granted each other visa-free entry, and Indonesian nationals are now eligible for China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy. ASEAN tourist groups can enter Guilin, Xishuangbanna and Guangdong visa-free, and tourists from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei enjoy visa-free entry to Hainan. The ASEAN Visa launched by China officially took effect on June 9, 2025, further boosting two-way travel.

5. Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Exchanges and cooperation in innovation and entrepreneurship strengthened. The finals of the Third ASEAN-China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition were successfully held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with innovation projects on AI and green energy standing out among the contestants. Events like the ASEAN-China (International) “Mech Master” Robot Challenge and the 22nd Guangxi Adolescent Robotic Competition and Cross-Regional Robotics Invitational Tournament for Teenagers from ASEAN Countries provided platforms for exchanges and cooperation among young innovators and entrepreneurs, further unleashing the potential of ASEAN-China cooperation on sci-tech innovation .

6. Health and Well-being

Cooperation on people’s livelihood, health and medical care produced visible results. Events such as the ASEAN-China Symposiums on Health and Sustainability and the ASEAN-Guizhou Public Health Project Exchange Conference facilitated discussions on public health issues, including infectious disease prevention and control, comprehensive chronic disease prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, mental health, and disease control research, as well as experience-sharing on scientific research collaboration and personnel exchanges. Activities such as the ASEAN-Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Rehabilitation Promotion ASEAN Tour and the ASEAN-China Forum on Promotion of TCM Characteristic Preparations and Demonstration of Appropriate TCM Technologies facilitated the application of TCM and the integrated use of Chinese and Western medicine for treatment in ASEAN countries and helped ASEAN countries improve their medical care services.

7. Governance Cooperation

Governance cooperation encompassed diverse subjects. The two sides engaged in extensive discussions on topics such as state governance, the rule of law, public policy, environmental protection cooperation, biodiversity, and women and children. The 2025 ASEAN-China Youth Green Envoys Program·Guangxi called on young people from both sides to protect ecological diversity and promote ecological progress in ASEAN countries and China. The 2025 ASEAN-Oriented Forum on Women’s Development Exchange and Cooperation mobilized the power of women to address the opportunities and challenges for women’s development in the era of AI. The 2025 ASEAN-China Emergency Management Cooperation and Development Conference focused on leveraging technology to tackle challenges in managing cross-boarder disasters.

8. Media Exchanges

While traditional media remained robust, new media surged ahead with strong momentum and integrated media demonstrated immense potential. The two sides launched various programs such as Internet influencer contests, short video competitions and news anchor training camps to capitalize on trending topics, resulting in a total global exposure of over one billion views. The program Dialogue with ASEAN tells touching stories across sectors in ASEAN countries and China, and has won two Gold Awards at the 46th Annual Telly Awards in the United States—Best News Video and Best Long-Form Documentary. The hit show Divas Hit the Road: Good Friends, which features young celebrities exploring ASEAN countries, demonstrated outsized influence with more than 3.5 billion views and over 100 million overseas media impressions. The role of media in promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges is both significant and full of potential.

9. Heart-to-Heart Connections

People-to-people exchanges continued to thrive. People-to-people friendship organizations in ASEAN countries and China maintained close contact, with frequent mutual visits and ever-stronger bonds. Regular events such as the ASEAN-China Leaders’ Meeting of Friendship Organizations and the Conference on ASEAN-China People-to-people Friendship have grown into influential brands, ones that help build consensus on deepening ASEAN-China friendship, promote practical cooperation, and advance the building of an ASEAN-China community with a shared future at the people-to-people level. The ASEAN-Jiangsu Exchange Conference for Civil Organizations, successfully held for two consecutive years, has helped establish long-term exchange mechanisms among local civil organizations, further strengthening subnational and people-to-people cooperation between ASEAN and China.

10.Subnational Cooperation

Subnational cooperation remained vibrant. Exchanges between ASEAN and Chinese localities are diverse in forms and rich in substance. Over the past two years, cultural and people-to-people activities organized by local governments accounted for more than 80% of all listed events. Flagship initiatives such as the ASEAN-China (Qingdao) Economic and Trade Cooperation and Cultural Exchange Activities and the 2025 ASEAN-Greater Bay Area Economic Cooperation (Qianhai) Forum continued to unleash the potential of practical subnational cooperation. These efforts further enhanced the relationships among sister provinces/states and cities, and contributed subnational strength to the building of an ASEAN-China community with a shared future.

The success of the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges over the past two years has been made possible with the strong support of governments, civil societies, local authorities and business communities from both sides. People-to-people and cultural exchanges have expanded significantly in scale and delivered greater results, earning high praise from all sectors. ASEAN and China will jointly hold the Closing Ceremony of the Year of People-to-People Exchanges and the Selection of the Top Ten ASEAN-China People-to-People Exchange Projects to bring the Year of People-to-People Exchanges to a successful conclusion. The two sides will work together to further solidify public support for ASEAN-China friendship, deepen mutual understanding and affinity among the peoples of the region, and contribute to building an even closer ASEAN-China community with a shared future.