Initiative on Regional Migration Governance National Immigration Administration of the People’s Republic of China

The High-level Forum on Regional Migration Governance Policies was held in Beijing, China from 26th to 28th June, 2023. The forum was attended by the representatives of migration departments from Brunei Darussalam, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Singapore, Kingdom of Thailand, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, People's Republic of China, and officials from ASEAN Secretariat and IOM participated in the meeting.

These countries, connected by the same mountains and rivers, share the same affinity and culture, and are as close as lips and teeth. These countries form a community of shared future and also an inseparable community of shared security. China is willing to work with countries in this region to practice the global governance philosophy of extensive consultation, joint contribution, shared benefits, genuine multilateralism and open regionalism, uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, and the international order underpinned by international law, follow the basic norms of international relations based on the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter, support ASEAN-centered regional cooperation framework, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, reject Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, and make joint efforts to maintain lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity in the region.

The current international and regional situation is complex and volatile. On the one hand, as East Asia is experiencing economic and social recovery, the restart of tourism and the acceleration of digital economy have brought significant benefits. On the other hand, global and regional challenges occur continuously, geopolitical conflicts continue to be tense, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, risks in Asian economy appear rising, regional industrial chains and supply chains have been impacted, the risk of division and confrontation has been increasing, and global governance is facing unprecedented difficulties. In East Asia, one of the most dynamic regions in the world regarding migration, has witnessed the economic development and new challenges in security governance both brought by the large-scale flow of migrants, which makes migration governance in this region complex and formidable.

Therefore, we are committed to making efforts in and not limited to the following aspects:

1.Accelerate the implementation of the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, emphasize the vision of benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity, make constant efforts to improve policies and measures on cross-border movement of people and goods, keep supply chains and industrial chains stable and unblocked, and promote synergies in regional development and cooperation process.

2.Ensure the safe and orderly flow of people, reduce and eliminate the root causes of illegal migration, take active measures to guarantee legitimate rights and interests of immigrants, and promote the orderly flow and efficient allocation of human resources and other factors so as to bring the productivity of immigrants into full play, stimulate their potential, and build them contributors and beneficiaries of sustainable development.

3.Stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, stick to the Asian way of mutual respect, consensus-building and accommodating the comfort levels of all parties, take a systematic, law-based and comprehensive approach to governance and resolve root causes of problems, work together to address regional disputes, terrorism, climate change and other global issues, prevent and solve security challenges, and reduce displacement caused by conflicts and disasters.

4.Effectively implement migration-related Work Programmes in Implement the ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime as guided by ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime and its working mechanisms, work with countries in this region to combat cross-border criminal activities, guarantee legitimate rights and interests of people and enterprises of the regional countries, and take steady action to enhance people’s sense of security when they go out and do business.

5.Advocate efforts to strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation, introduce more inclusive immigration management policies, narrow people-to-people and cultural gaps in this region, jointly promote the progress of human civilization, replace estrangement with exchanges between different civilizations, replace clashes with mutual learning and replace a sense of superiority with coexistence, and make the garden of world civilization more flourishing.

6.Support efforts to enhance multilateral, regional and bilateral cooperation on migration issues, uphold the leading role of ASEAN in regional migration governance, and strengthen the integration of concepts, coherence of policies and coordination of measures, so as to shape a new governance model with the cooperation of immigration authorities of the regional countries and international organizations and the participation of all stakeholders, advancing the modernization of concept, system and capacity of migration governance.

7.Support efforts to strengthen exchanges among officials of all levels from migration departments of the regional countries, establish and improve the bilateral and multilateral meeting mechanism, and expand the depth and breadth of law enforcement cooperation, further building up strength and enhancing mutual trust.

8.Support efforts to promote expert-level consultations and discussions to exchange information concerning international and regional migration governance and ideas on their domestic migration policies, and strengthen coordination of positions and interests on issues of common concern.

9.Improve the function of ports, establish "green channels" for the smooth movement of people and goods, facilitate the entry and exit of people and vehicles from the regional countries serving the Belt and Road initiative, and provide business personnel with entry, stay and residence convenience under the framework of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

10.Strengthen the management of border areas and ports by enhancing intelligence sharing, investigation assistance and joint operation, and combating illegal immigration, terrorist activities, human trafficking, telecommunication fraud, cross-border gambling and other migration-related criminal activities together, so as to safeguard peace and stability in this region.

11.Advocate effective measures to manage the removals of illegal immigrants in timely manner by improve the accuracy of identity verification and the efficiency of the handover process.

12.Establish an information sharing mechanism for a timely exchange of information including the latest migration management policies, the latest samples of travel documents, anti-counterfeiting technologies, trends, characteristics and clues of migration-related illegal and criminal activities, and forged/altered travel documents that have been seized.

13.Take further step to share the latest technologies and users experience about them, and improve management efficiency and strengthen risk management through digital and intelligent methods.

14.Promote exchanges, discussions and training in immigration management, and encourage countries in this region to provide bilateral and multilateral training programs for the regional countries on immigration management laws and policies, examination of travel documents, behavioral detection and biometric recognition, as well as language and culture knowledge.

15.Enhance the domestic publicity of immigration laws and policies, and encourage enterprises, institutions and people to abide by laws in immigration administration, so as to prevent and reduce illegal immigration activities.

16.Take active and effective measures to promote the integration of immigrants and provide them with service and convenience in travel document issuance, policy consultation, stay and residence approval, legal assistance, language and culture support, and etc..

We call for joint efforts from countries in this region to pursue coordination of measures on migration management at a higher level, integration of concepts on migration management at a deeper degree, and cooperation on migration governance in a broader area, so as to safeguard global and regional prosperity and stability and create a bright future hand in hand.