On July 11, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a policy speech on renewing the firm commitment to open regionalism and answered questions at the ASEAN Secretariat.

In response to a question from some scholars about how China-ASEAN economic cooperation can contribute to global recovery, Wang Yi said that China and ASEAN are the world's second and fifth largest economies, respectively, whose aggregate economy has surpassed one-fifth of the world's total, contributing to more than 30 percent of the global economy and making them indeed two important engines for global economic recovery.

Wang Yi said, to secure global economic recovery, the priority is to speed up efforts to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. China and ASEAN members have conducted fruitful cooperation in fighting the pandemic and became the first group of countries that successfully brought the pandemic under control, which created necessary conditions for rapid economic recovery and also offered valuable confidence for the rest of the world.

Wang Yi said, global economic recovery needs to focus on development and cooperation. During my visit, foreign ministers of the five Lancang-Mekong countries and I agreed to build a stronger Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Economic Development Belt. I discussed with my Lao counterpart and Thai counterpart the possibility of opening the China-Laos-Thailand Railway and connecting it with the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor that will lead directly to the hinterland of Europe. I also had an in-depth discussion with my Indonesian counterpart on deepening all-round cooperation between China and Indonesia and reached important consensus. In a turbulent international landscape, the focused endeavor of China and ASEAN countries to seek development is an important contribution to the global economy.

Wang Yi said, the global economic recovery should be in line with the trend of globalization, which also calls for the stable operation of the industrial and supply chains, as well as liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. China and ASEAN are making all-out efforts to push for the RCEP to take effect, which is expected to boost the growth of global trade by nearly 3 percent, and will bring a 1.5 percent growth effect to the world in five years. In the chilly headwinds against globalization, China and ASEAN have been holding fast to their positions, bringing warmth to the chill.

Wang Yi said, global economic recovery also needs a new impetus for growth. In this regard, China and ASEAN are also leading the way and playing a positive role. To echo the historical trend of the fourth technological revolution, we have deepened cooperation in digital and green economies with rapid progress achieved in e-commerce cooperation, benefiting the two peoples and leading East Asia to become the world's fastest-growing market of the digital economy.

Wang Yi pointed out, China is ready to work with ASEAN to jointly build the high-quality Belt and Road and promote high-level China-ASEAN cooperation, so as to benefit the two peoples and make Chinese and ASEAN contributions to a rapid and strong recovery of the world economy.