On July 4, the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong session of the 9th China-AALCO Exchange and Research Program on International Law was held by the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR. Mr. Cui Jianchun, Commissioner of the Office, and Mr. Anthony Neoh, Chairman of the Asian Academy of International Law (AAIL), attended and delivered speeches. Also present were Deputy Commissioner Zhang Changwei, representatives from the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, legal officials from the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) and the African Union, as well as participants from over 30 Asian and African countries, and the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.

Commissioner Cui Jianchun noted that over the 70 years since its founding, AALCO has consistently contributed to the development of international law. Under “One Country, Two Systems”, Hong Kong, firmly rooted in the motherland and well-connected to the rest of the world, serves as an optimal gateway for Asian and African countries to engage in the Belt and Road Initiative. He called on Asian and African countries to strengthen solidarity and cooperation, act on the Global Governance Initiative, and uphold international fairness and justice.

Mr. Anthony Neoh, Chairman of AAIL, expounded on the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity， drawing on fine traditional Chinese culture, and encouraged participants to safeguard a shared future through the rule of law.

The China-AALCO Exchange and Research Program on International Law was announced by President Xi Jinping in 2015. To date, it has provided training for more than 300 legal officials from over 40 Asian and African countries and relevant international organizations, earning widespread recognition and high acclaim from all parties concerned.