On July 17, Consul General Chen Haiping attended the opening ceremony of the NACT Working Group Meeting and delivered remarks. Representatives from Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, the ASEAN Secretariat, and experts from NACT member states exchanged views on "Optimizing Connectivity Through Rules and Institutional Cooperation."

Consul GeneralChen noted that China-ASEAN connectivity cooperation has achieved globally recognized successes. Realizing higher-quality connectivity requires both "hard connectivity" in infrastructure and "soft connectivity" in rules, standards, and institutions. Facing protectionism, unilateralism, and economic bullying by certain countries, deepening regional rules alignment and regulatory cooperation holds significant practical value for enhancing regional industrial/supply chain connectivity and resilience; safeguarding the WTO-centered multilateral trading system; and building a closer China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future.He expressed hope that the meeting would use "small breakthroughs" in rules and regulatory cooperation to advance the "grand vision" of regional connectivity, injecting new momentum into shared prosperity.