On October 25, the 2026 China-ASEAN Youth Culture Week kicked off in Beijing. Centered on the theme Hehe for the Future: Youth in a World of Civilizaitonal Harmony, the event brought together more than 400 participants including relevant experts and youth representatives from China and ASEAN countries. It aims to deepen friendship among young people, stimulate innovative vitality, and pool youth strength for the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The participating experts noted that young people constitute an important foundation for China-ASEAN relations and serve as the most dynamic vanguard in people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Taking this Culture Week as an opportunity, they expressed the hope that Chinese and ASEAN youth can find resonance through mutual learning among civilizations, learn respect amid diversity, and leave youthful echoes across the broad arena of China-ASEAN cooperation.

As introduced, the week-long cultural week will feature a series of activities, including the China-ASEAN Fieldwork Sharing Session, the Area Studies Sub-forum under the China-ASEAN Xishan Forum, the China-ASEAN Youth Friendly Sports Match, and the online thematic showcase of Lao language by university students titled“Bridging China-Laos through Language”. Parallel events will also be held at the ASEAN venue in Laos.