The 31st regular meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Andean Community (AEC) was held on September 30th in Bogota, the capital of Colombia. The meeting unanimously passed a resolution to officially accept China as an observer state of the organization. Representatives of member states expressed that China has always played an important role in the international community and global governance. China's becoming an observer state of the ASEAN has significant historical significance, and they look forward to promoting cooperation between the two sides, advancing regional economic integration and sustainable development, and better safeguarding the common interests of developing countries. Chinese representative and Charg é d'affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Colombia, Zhang Liping, appreciated the decision of the Community of Shared Future of Angola and expressed China's willingness to work with Latin America to implement the "Five Major Projects" of jointly building a community with a shared future between China and Latin America, opening up a new pattern of bilateral and multilateral cooperation to better benefit the people of both sides. The joint statement issued after the meeting reiterated that all parties will strengthen regional integration and sustainable development cooperation, and take practical measures in key areas such as combating transnational organized crime and facilitating personnel and commercial exchanges. At this meeting, Ecuador took over as the rotating chair of the Community of African States from Colombia, with a term of one year. The Community of African States was established in May 1969 and is an important regional economic integration organization in Latin America. Its headquarters are located in Lima, the capital of Peru, and it currently has four formal member states: Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia. Chile and Venezuela withdrew from the organization in 1976 and 2006, respectively. (New Society)