From October 14 to 15, the first China-ASEAN Forum for Regional Cooperation and Development initiated and hosted by Guangxi University was held in Huixue Hall of Guangxi University, with the theme of "China-ASEAN: For a Better Shared Future". The forum invited officials from the Ministry of Transportation, Center for Language Education and Cooperation of Ministry of Education, International Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Education, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Construction, Department of Commerce, Department of Water Resources, Development and Reform Commission, Department of Agricultural and Rural Affairs. The director of Jilin Provincial Waterway Management Bureau, representatives of the Consulate General of ASEAN countries in Guangxi, as well as academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Zheng Jinglian of Guangxi University, member of the Municipal Party Committee and Vice Mayor of Qinzhou Fan Yingjie were also invited. More than 400 experts and scholars from home and abroad participated in the meeting.

At the opening ceremony, Wu Jinchang, deputy director general of the Department of Education of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Ket Kiettisak, former deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Ma Shaojian, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Guangxi University, Wang Yong, director of the Development Planning Division of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, and Gao Yang, director of the Editor-in-Chief's Office of the Contemporary World Magazine, International Department of the CPC Central Committee, delivered addresses respectively. The opening ceremony of the forum was moderated by Xiao Jianzhuang, vice president of Guangxi University.

Wu Jinchang mentioned in his speech, Guangxi is the gateway for China to open up and cooperate with ASEAN, connected with ASEAN countries by land and sea, with cultural proximity and affinity. Guangxi has a unique location advantage of "One gulf linking eleven countries, with benign interaction between the East the Middle and the West", especially in international educational cooperation and exchanges. In the future, Guangxi will focus on promoting educational cooperation in the ASEAN region by constructing a platform for cooperation of higher education institutions in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative,and continuing to carry out international cooperation with universities in ASEAN countries in the areas of talent exchange, scientific research, think tank construction, and education collaborations.

Ket Kiettisak said China's rapid development and experience in governance is a strong inspiration and reference for the development of ASEAN, especially Laos. ASEAN and China have deepened the cooperation in various fields, among which education cooperation and judicial cooperation have achieved fruitful results. Guangxi University has been cultivating and training various kinds of excellent talents for ASEAN countries in recent years, and has played an important role in promoting education, talent exchange and cooperation between ASEAN and China.

Ma Shaojian said in his welcome address that Cooperating with ASEAN is one of the key features of Guangxi University, and it is also the main direction for the future international exchange and cooperation. Guangxi University has established cooperative relations in education, research and talent cultivation with nearly 100 universities and research institutions in ASEAN. We look forward to further increasing exchanges and cooperation with ASEAN and other international universities through this forum to enhance the level of internationalization, promote the intercross and fusion of disciplines and the construction of "double first-class" of Guangxi University, and better serve the construction of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Wang Yong, with the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, and Gao Yang, with International Department of the CPC Central Committee, both expressed their expectations and support for the deepening of educational cooperation between Guangxi and ASEAN countries, and highly valued the positive role of the convening of the China-ASEAN Forum for Regional Cooperation and Development, and called for more HEIs to take part in the activities of the Forum, so as to continuously deepen the exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN in the field of education.

After the opening ceremony of the forum, Xia Guoen, Vice President of Guangxi University, presided over the plenary speech session of the main forum. Ten well-known scholars from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences(VASS), Macau University of Science and Technology, Peking University, University of International Business and Economics, Fudan University, South China University of Technology, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law and Guangxi University of Finance and Economics shared and discussed the theme of the forum and the latest research results related to China-ASEAN in their respective fields.

This Forum consists of one main forum and 12 parallel sub-forums. Experts and scholars at the forum focused on "Country and Regional Studies", "RCEP and Deepening of China-ASEAN Relations", "Media and Journalism and Communication Education" ,"International Chinese Language Education" ,"Business Cooperation and Low-Carbon Development","Economic and Financial Cooperation","Language Services,Translation Technology","International Chinese Language Education","Language Services, Translation Technology and Cultural Communication", "Green Development and Regional Governance", "Governance Experience of Political Parties" ,"Regional Legal Collaboration" "Mathematical Research" ,"Low Carbon Construction and Operation" and other topics to carry out seminars and in-depth exchanges.

In addition, 10 keynote speeches, keynote seminars and forums for doctoral and master's students were arranged, and the sub-forums carried out academic paper presentations and excellent paper selection. In total ,the forum has received more than 450 reports and papers.