More people-to-people exchanges between China, ASEAN: Xi

China and ASEAN should promote social and people-to-people exchanges to promote friendship and good-neighborliness, Vice President Xi Jinping said here Friday.

Xi made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 9th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and 2012 Forum on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

He said both sides should make full use of the institutions and platforms such as ASEAN-China Center, Conference on China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations and China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week to facilitate friendly exchanges in culture, education, tourism, youth and other areas with a view to increasing the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

He called on exploring for the creation of a new platform of tourism cooperation designed to raise the number of people engaged in two-way personnel exchange to 15 million by 2015, and also carry out a variety of youth exchanges and activities between the two sides.

China proposes the establishment of a China-ASEAN Students' Friendship Association, Xi said.

Both sides should work to implement the "Double 100,000 Students Mobility Program" that envisages 100,000 students from each side by 2020, so that more young people will join the exchanges of regional cooperation and carry forward the torch of China-ASEAN friendship and good-neighborliness, he said.