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To counter new sources of uncertainty and instability at a time of great global transformation and to advance joint solutions to the shared challenges of forging a China–ASEAN Community of Shared Future, South China Normal University convened the 2025 International “Southeast Asia Forum” at its Shipai campus in Guangzhou on November 15-16.
Focusing on "Inclusive Cooperation and Resilient Development amid Global Transformation withing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hainan Free Trade Port, and Southeast Asia", the conference brought together some 300 delegates from governments, universities, research institutes, think-tanks, enterprises, social organizations and media across China and 11 southeast Asian countries, while nearly 20,000 viewers followed the live webcast.
Secretary-General of ASEAN H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand H.E. Korn Dabbaransi, and former Minister of Transport of Malaysia Y.B. Ong Tee Keat sent special congratulatory letters for the successful convening of the 2025 "Southeast Asia Forum" International Conference. They commended South China Normal University for its significant role in contributing to the building of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, sent a special congratulatory letter.
H.E. Korn Dabbaransi, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, sent a special congratulatory letter.
Y.B. Ong Tee Keat, Former Minister of Transport of Malaysia, sent a special congratulatory letter.
Opening addresses were delivered by Wang Hengyin, Secretary of the CPC SCNU Committee; Lin Xiong, former Deputy Secretary of the Leading Party Group and Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and current Chairman of the Guangdong International Cultural Exchange Center; Chen Qi, Deputy Director of the International Exchange & Cooperation Division of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province; Ni Haidong, Party Secretary of Beijing Language and Culture University and Chair of the Section for Area and Country Studies, China Association for Higher Education; Prof. Heri Hermansyah, Rector of Universitas Indonesia; Luo Lin, Director of Secretariat for International and Regional Studies in Universities, Ministry of Education; and Wang Jianhua, President of the China Industry-University-Research Institute Collaboration Association.
The opening ceremony was moderated by Wu Jian, former vice president of South China Normal University and director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
Opening address by Wang Hengyin, Secretary of the CPC SCNU Committee.
Opening address by Lin Xiong, former Deputy Secretary of the Leading Party Group of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and current Chairman of the Guangdong International Cultural Exchange Center.
Opening address by Chen Qi, Deputy Director of the International Exchange & Cooperation Division of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province.
Opening address by Ni Haidong, Party Secretary of Beijing Language and Culture University and Chair of the Section for Area and Country Studies of the China Association for Higher Education.
Opening address by Prof. Heri Hermansyah, Rector of Universitas Indonesia.
Opening address by Luo Lin, Director of the Secretariat for International and Regional Studies in Universities under the Ministry of Education.
Opening address by Wang Jianhua, President of the China Industry-University-Research Institute Collaboration Association.
Moderation of the opening ceremony by Wu Jian, former Vice President of South China Normal University and Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
A launch ceremony was specially held for the first volume of the "Biographies of Chinese Overseas in Southeast Asia Series" entitled Marching Across Boundaries on the Stormy Seas: The Biography of Fadjar Suhendra at the opening ceremony. The "Biographies of Chinese Overseas in Southeast Asia Series" is edited-in-chief by Wu Jian and published by the Guowen Press. The first volume focuses on Mr. Fadjar Suhendra, an outstanding Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur, and systematically presents his philanthropic endeavors in promoting Chinese education in Indonesia and donating to education in China.
Launch Ceremony for the First Volume of the “Biographies of Chinese Overseas in Southeast Asia Series”.
During the keynote report session, university leaders, experts, and scholars from China and Southeast Asian countries delivered special reports on strategic, economic, scientific and technological, educational, historical, cultural, and other issues that are crucial to the building of the China-ASEAN community with a shared future. Prof. Wu Jian outlined the "High-Quality Development of China–ASEAN Cooperation in Education, Science and Technology, and Talent Cultivation"; Prof. Heri Hermansyah examined the "75th Years Anniversary of Indonesia-China: Strengthening Partnership by Strategic Triple Helix Collaboration"; Prof. Luo Lin offered "Partnering for Progress: Integrating AI into Basic Education Across China and ASEAN".
Prof. Hazri Kifle, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam, shared "China-Southeast Asia Relations and Cooperation: Brunei Darussalam Perspective"; Prof. Huang Renwei, Professor and Executive Vice Dean of the Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance, Fudan University, analysed "The Role and Significance of Southeast Asia in the Belt and Road Initiative"; and Prof. Tan Tai Yong, President and Professor of the Singapore University of Social Sciences, delivered an in-depth discussion on regional development under the theme of "Education as a Strategic Bridge: Enhancing China–Southeast Asia Cooperation in a Transforming World".
Prof. Hazri Kifle, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
Prof. Huang Renwei, Professor and Executive Vice Dean of the Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance, Fudan University.
Prof. Tan Tai Yong, President and Professor of the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
Multiple parallel sessions were set up at this conference to further enrich the meeting structure and enhance its effectiveness in supporting the university's overall layout for exchanges and cooperation with Southeast Asia, covering a range of topics, such as "Challenges and Responses in China–Southeast Asia Economic and Trade Cooperation" and "Upgrading China–Southeast Asia Science-technology and Education Cooperation under AI".
The Postgraduate Forum (for Master's and Doctoral students), themed "Multipipeline Integration and Meta-Knowledge: Country and Regional Studies on Southeast Asia", provided an interdisciplinary platform for academic exchange and dialogue among postgraduates from universities at home and abroad, including Renmin University of China, Yunnan University, Macau University of Science and Technology, South China Normal University, and Trinity College Dublin.
Specifically featured in this forum was a visit to ed-tech enterprises, where guests from Southeast Asian countries including Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines were demonstrated the latest achievements in artificial intelligence education R&D from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and a vivid and enriched image of China in the new era was communicated.
“SouthEast Asia Forum" 2025 International Conference Group Photo.
The 2025 International "Southeast Asia Forum" was co-sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of South China Normal University (a key research center for national and regional studies under the Ministry of Education), the Guangdong International Cultural Exchange Center and the Cross-Strait, Hong Kong & Macao Collaborative Innovation Alliance.
Focusing on the linkage between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hainan Free Trade Port, and Southeast Asia, the forum has innovatively advanced exchange and dialogue between domestic regions and Southeast Asia on the basis of thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Central Conference on Peripheral Diplomacy and the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee.
Since 2017, SCNU has successively hosted nine sessions of the "Southeast Asia Forum", which has evolved into a key platform for academic exchange and practical dialogue between China and Southeast Asia, playing an increasingly prominent role in promoting regional exchanges, dialogue, and connectivity.
For more about reports by invited guests:
Prof. Lin Guangzhi, Professor and Director of the Institute for Social and Cultural Research, Macau University of Science and Technology, focused on “The Historical Significance of Southeast Asian Studies: Focusing on Zheng Guanying’s Covert Operation to Southeast Asia to ‘Align with Siam against France’”; Prof. Huang Ping, President and Professor of the Hong Kong Academy of Chinese Studies, and Director of the Research Center for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, offered insights on “New Pathways for China–Southeast Asia Exchange and Cooperation under the Great Changes of the Century — Thinking on Hong Kong’s Role and Position”; Prof. Sithxay Xayavong, Rector and Professor of Savannakhet University, Laos, analysed “Opportunities and Challenges of Economic Development in Laos along the Laos-China Railway Development Project”; Prof. Zhai Kun, Professor of the School of International Studies and Vice Dean of the Institute of Area Studies, Peking University, elaborated on “The Role of the Greater Bay Area as a Pioneer in Building the China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future in the New Era”; Prof. Ni Ni Aung, Pro-Rector (Academic) and Professor of Yangon University of Foreign Languages, presented “Building Bridges of Knowledge and Cooperation: Advancing Education, Culture, and Connectivity Between Southeast Asia and China”; Prof. Mok Soon Chong, Vice-Chancellor and Professor of New Era University College, explained “A New Paradigm for Regional Integration: The Vision, Challenges, and Strategies for Building a China-Southeast Asia Cultural and Educational Innovation Corridor”; and Prof. Sinath Norm, Vice-President of the University of Cambodia, reported on “Building a Shared Future of Inclusive Cooperation and Resilient Development: Strengthening China–Cambodia Partnership within the Southeast Asian Community”.
Prof. Huang Ping, President and Professor of the Hong Kong Academy of Chinese Studies, and Director of the Research Center for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Prof. Mok Soon Chong, Vice-Chancellor and Professor of New Era University College.
Prof. Sinath Norm, Vice-President of the University of Cambodia.
Prof. Pedro Miguel Barretto Ximenes, Rector and Professor of the East Timor Institute of Business, examined “Challenges and Opportunities for Timor-Leste After ASEAN Accession”; Prof. Liu Zhiqiang, Dean of the School of Southeast Asian Studies, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, analysed “Economic, Trade, and Cultural Exchanges between Guangdong and ASEAN Countries under the New Situation”; Dr. Bui Thanh Nam, Vice Chairman of the University Council and Associate Professor at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, shared “Challenges and Responses in China-Vietnam Economic and Trade Cooperation”; Lin Chunhong, Second-Class Inspector of the Hainan Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Vice President of the Hainan International Chamber of Commerce, spoke on “Working Together to Create a New Chapter of Regional Cooperation in a Changing World”; Associate Professor Pavika Sriratanaban, Director of the Asian Studies Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, explored “The Ethics of Connectivity: Envisioning Asia’s Shared Future”; Tian Yuan, Executive Vice President of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Industrial Talent Research Institute, reported on “Research on Pathways for China-Southeast Asia Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Empowered by Artificial Intelligence”; and Associate Professor Noel Christian A. Moratilla, Director of the Asian Center, University of the Philippines, introduced “Intersections and Interactions: Chinese Studies in the UP Asian Center”.
Prof. Pedro Miguel Barretto Ximenes, Rector of the East Timor Institute of Business.
Prof. Pedro Miguel Barretto Ximenes, Rector of the East Timor Institute of Business.
Lin Chunhong, Second-Class Inspector of the Hainan Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Vice President of the Hainan International Chamber of Commerce.
Source from the Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Translated by ZHANG Zhenwen，LI zongwei
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Li Jianru
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