The Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the ASEAN Press Delegation during their Chinese tour from October 10 to 19. Composed of 17 journalists from 14 media, most of whom are correspondents, senior reporters and commentators for international news, the delegation visited Beijing, Guangxi and Guangdong respectively. They witnessed the economic development and social progress and felt the huge potential and bright prospect of the exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN. Beijing: Enhanced Policy Understanding China's development and China-ASEAN cooperation are the two main themes of the delegation's coverage. Leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Information Industry, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Agriculture met with the delegation respectively to share with them China's principle of guiding economic and social development with the concept of scientific development, promoting all-round, coordinated and sustainable development, its policy of building a harmonious society and sticking to the path of peaceful development as well as the new achievements in the cooperation between China and ASEAN in politics, economy, trade, science, technology and agriculture. They also took questions from the journalists on the positioning of China-ASEAN relations, how China plays its role in regional cooperation, the progress of China-ASEAN free trade area and China's investments in ASEAN. Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei made positive remarks on the development of China-ASEAN strategic partnership, stressing China has been promoting its relations with ASEAN in the principle of "equality, mutual benefits, cooperation for an all-win situation" and has been supporting ASEAN to play a leading role in regional cooperation. He also briefed the journalists on the Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the 11th Five-Year Plan on National Economic and Social Development adopted at the 5th Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the success of the manned space flight by Shenzhou 6, etc. He stressed China's development will be conducive to maintaining regional and world peace and development. China's development in space technology is part of the exploration of the universe by the whole mankind and China's achievements belong to the whole world. The journalists agreed with Vice Minister Wu. The reporter of the Star, a newspaper in Malaysia, published a report entitled China's Space Development Aimed at Peace and Development on the following day, quoting Vice Minister Wu in details. Following their reporting in Beijing, the journalists indicated that the items on the schedule were rich and informative. Through the briefings of Chinese officials, they have gained new understanding of China's internal and external policies and have felt China's sincerity to develop strategic partnership with ASEAN. Guangxi: A Foreseen Take-off Saying goodbye to the golden autumn of Beijing, the delegation arrived in beautiful Guangxi. As the only province to both neighbor ASEAN countries on land and to have sea routes with them, Guangxi is at the forefront of exchanges between China and ASEAN and has been playing a key role in the history of bilateral exchanges. Upon their arrival in Nanning on the afternoon of October 12, the journalists were immediately attracted by the thick greenery. The palm trees and flowers along the streets made the city a green beauty. The Second China-ASEAN Expo was to open in Nanning and naturally they were the words the most frequently heard and seen by the journalists. The expo was initiated by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the 7th China-ASEAN Leaders' Meeting in October 2003. As a practical step toward the building of a China-ASEAN free trade area, the initiative was welcomed by all the ASEAN countries. The various parties agreed to hold the expo annually in the Chinese city of Nanning, Guangxi. The journalists visited the modern exhibition center and were briefed by the officials from Guangxi. Guangxi impressed the journalists deeply by its determination to build a golden link between China and ASEAN. The journalists also visited the China-ASEAN Economic Park in the suburb of Nanning. As an important carrier of China-ASEAN Expo, the park occupies an area of more than 180 square kilometers. Since its inception a year ago, it has attracted 55 projects to land with a total investment of 3.17 billion yuan and 1.17 billion yuan has been in place. The park serves as a great platform for the mutually beneficial cooperation between Chinese and ASEAN businesses. The journalists wished that Nanning would take the opportunity of the expo to develop itself into a regional metropolis of China facing ASEAN. Guangdong: Poised for the Second Glory The last stop of the delegation's Chinese tour is Guangdong. ASEAN is a neighbor of the province and Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are separated from it by a mere sea. As a transportation and logistics hub in South China, and even South-central Southwest China, Guangdong enjoys highly developed trade and service industries and serves as a pivot of commodities between China and ASEAN. With close economic and trade exchanges with ASEAN, the import and export between Guangdong and the regional body hit 33.293 billion US dollars in 2004, representing an increase of 21.9% and accounting for 9% of the province's total. The 98th Guangzhou Trade Fair was taking place when the delegation arrived in the city. The journalists were strongly interested in the fair which, with a history of 48 years, is believed to be largest trade fair in China and can be looked at as a snapshot of the prosperity and development of China and Guangdong thanks to the reform and opening up initiative. Guangdong and ASEAN boast strong economic complementarities. ASEAN countries abound in natural resources while Guangdong enjoys unique advantages in capital, technology and human resources. The journalists visited two telecommunication companies in Shenzhen, Huawei and ZTE, both of which are actively exploring the Southeast Asian market. Huawei has set up subsidiaries or offices in 7 of the 10 ASEAN countries. The journalists indicated it is of profound significance for both China and ASEAN to learn from and cooperate with each other. They believed Guangdong, with advantages in geography, transportation and industry, would be facing with new opportunities of development in economic exchanges and mutual investment with ASEAN countries with the promotion of China-ASEAN free trade area. At the end of their Chinese tour, the 17 journalists were reluctant to say goodbye to the people accompanying them. They sang high praise for the dramatic changes and development in China and wished more progress in China-ASEAN friendly cooperation. They said they would share with the people of their own country what they saw and heard during their visit comprehensively and objectively, and agreed to compile the reports and comments of the members of the delegation into a book to satisfy the readers in ASEAN countries.