On December 21, the award ceremony of the first China-ASEAN “Friendship and Cooperation” short video contest was held through a combination of online and offline methods. Wu Hailong, President of CPDA addressed online the award ceremony. Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Deng Xijun, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN R.M. Michael Tene,Permanent Representative of Philippines to ASEAN H.E. Ambassador Noel Servigon, and representatives of winners from China and ASEAN countries attended online the event and gave speeches. Principals of China Report of China International Publishing Group and the Publicity Department of the Municipal Committee of Suzhou were present and delivered speeches.

In his speech, President Wu said that connected by mountains and rivers, China and ASEAN are neighbours with a long history of close and friendly relations. In recent years, the political mutual trust between the two sides has been continuously enhanced, the economic cooperation has achieved remarkable results and people-to-people and cultural exchanges have become increasingly close. Facing the impact of the COVID-19, China and ASEAN have helped and supported each other, have stayed altogether to overcome difficulties, and have written a beautiful chapter of solidarity in the fight against the epidemic. China Public Diplomacy Association actively participates in cultural exchanges with ASEAN countries and develops cooperation in the battle of the coronavirus through civil channels, contributing to the promotion of China-ASEAN people-to-people bonds. This contest focuses on themes such as "China-ASEAN Committed to Fighting COVID-19 Together" and "Building a China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future ". By digging out true stories, it shows achievements of the practical cooperation between China and ASEAN. It could never have been better timed and has far-reaching significance. The award ceremony not only brought a successful conclusion to the contest, but also opened a new chapter of cooperation between two sides.

H.E. Ambassador Deng said in his speech that China and ASEAN countries have worked together to fight the epidemic, creating new opportunities in the crisis and opening up new dimension in the changing situation. This contest is a successful attempt to promote the mutual understanding of the people of both sides in a special period. Every entry is a vivid portrayal of the friendship and cooperation between China and ASEAN. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relationship between China and ASEAN. We should continue to joint efforts to build a more cohesive China-ASEAN community with a shared future.  

    Deputy Secretary-General Tene and H.E. Ambassador Noel stated that this contest relates the story of China-ASEAN friendly cooperation through short videos, which effectively promotes the cultural exchanges and people-to-people connectivity between both sides. And it’s conducive to the continuous and in-depth development of China-ASEAN relationship.

Representatives of Chinese and foreign winners expressed their heartfelt thanks to the organizers of both sides for their carefully planning this contest. They regarded the contest as a platform where they could narrate stories about the friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN and the joint efforts of both sides to fight against the epidemic. It has made great contributions to boosting the confidence of Chinese and ASEAN countries’ people in defeating the epidemic and promoting the cultural exchanges between them.

Since the contest was launched on July 3, a total of more than 36,000 entries from China and ten ASEAN countries have been received and broadcast over 270 million times on new media platforms such as WeChat, Weibo, Kuaishou, Douyin, Twitter and Facebook. Keywords such as "China-ASEAN Short Video Contest" appeared once on the lists of most searched hashtags of many social media platforms at home and abroad. Through strict evaluation by professional judges from China and ASEAN countries, 20 excellent works finally stood out and won gold, silver and bronze awards and honorable mentions respectively.