Documentary series "Dialogue with ASEAN" launched

China News Service, Shanghai, November 11 (Reporter Wang Ji) In order to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN and the fifth anniversary of the establishment of comprehensive strategic partnership between China and ASEAN, a three-part documentary series "Dialogue with ASEAN" provided by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and produced by Shanghai Radio and Television Real Media Co., Ltd. was launched on Dragon TV on the evening of the 10th.

Stills from the documentary "Dialogue with ASEAN". Photo courtesy of the film crew

The documentary series "Dialogue with ASEAN" focuses on the fruitful results of cooperation and exchanges between China and ASEAN since the establishment of dialogue relations 35 years ago. With the themes of "Working Together", "Moving for New" and "Across Mountains and Seas", it shows that China and ASEAN countries continue to build consensus and build a closely connected community of a shared future from the three dimensions of economic and trade social cooperation, science and technology empowering sustainable development, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

The film crew spent two years traveling to many locations for filming, with a total journey of more than 70,000 kilometers, recording real and vivid stories of ordinary people. In Brunei, the camera captured that the visa-free policy has brought more Chinese tourists, and the business of local Chinese restaurants has become increasingly prosperous; in Thailand, young students and researchers participating in the "Global Challenge Program" conducted joint research on the reuse of agricultural waste to jointly address the challenges of the two countries' high dependence on external energy and heavy carbon emission reduction tasks; in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the film crew went deep into the frontline construction site to follow and film, recording the process of China and many countries working together to restore Angkor Wat...

Stills from the documentary "Dialogue with ASEAN". Photo courtesy of the film crew

China and ASEAN countries face issues of common global concern, such as environment, poverty reduction, scientific and technological innovation, etc. The film crew went deep into many ASEAN countries and recorded cases such as the China-Cambodia Fish-rice Corridor, China-Indonesia Marine Ranches, China-Singapore Science and Technology Innovation, China-Vietnam Offshore Wind Power, China-Thailand Youth Scientific Research Exchange, etc., showing that China and ASEAN countries are engaged in pragmatic dialogue on the premise of mutual respect, tolerance and mutual learning. The cases in the film also cover representative long-term cooperation projects between China and ASEAN. For example, under the framework of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Five-Year Plan, Chinese experts visited 25 provinces and cities in Cambodia and proposed a new model of rice and fishery planting and breeding technology cooperation based on local conditions to help local poverty reduction goals.

In the context of challenges to the international economic and trade order, the bilateral trade volume between China and ASEAN has bucked the trend, and the two sides have been each other's largest trading partners for six consecutive years. The documentary responds to the trend of anti-globalization, unilateralism, and protectionism with stories of mutual assistance, tolerance, mutual learning, and win-win cooperation: Only by practicing the concepts of multilateralism and peaceful development can we share prosperity and move towards an increasingly close community with a shared future for mankind. (over)