JAKARTA: The relationship between Asean and China relies on the trust that it shares with the Asian economic giant.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said this formed the foundation of its relations because each Asean member adopts a strong independent stance when it comes to protecting its interest and the interest of the regional bloc.
He said China and Asean should also continue to maintain multilateral dialogue platforms in areas of security as the region's stability was of utmost importance.
Anwar said there have been many advancements in the fields of innovation and technical education through the years and Asean has also reaped the benefits of such developments.
"Under China's leadership, innovation technology and technical education have transformed China, and this has also benefited us.
"This is not just about government-initiated programmes, but also people-to-people interests since 2024 will be the year of China-Asean Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges.
"I would also like to stress upon the Asean-China Summit chairman and Premier Li Qiang that future collaboration would depend largely on the issue of trust and discussions at multilateral levels in areas of security for both China and Asean," he said in a speech at the 26th Asean-China Summit held in conjunction with the 43rd Asean Summit and Related Summits here today.
Anwar said on Malaysia's part, it has conveyed to China about its desire to defend its interests, and had also conveyed the measures under Malaysia Madani Economy Framework with China.
"As I have relayed to (Chinese) premier Li Qiang earlier, we take a strong independent stance as far as protecting our country's interests and the interests of the region.
"I am pleased with the policy pronouncements and arrangements of Chinese president Xi Jinping, and I have also shared in a small way (Malaysia's) Madani Economy Framework."
Anwar said collaborations in food security and digital transformation could also be enhanced under the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement 3.0.
He said in this regard the Asean-China Technical Cooperative Agreement should be able to further identify new areas in collaborative programmes in these sectors.
Anwar is leading the Malaysian delegation to the 43rd Asean Summit and Related Summits here until Thursday.
Under Asean's platform with its dialogue partners, the bloc annually meets with heads of government from countries such as China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, United States, Canada, Australia as well as representatives from the United Nations.