TheauthorisanassociateresearchfellowattheChinaInstituteofInternationalStudiesFromJuly31toAugust5,ChineseStateCouncilorandForeignMinisterWangYivisitedMalaysiaandSingaporewhereheattendedaslewofforeignministers鈥檓eetingsalongsidecounterpartsfromacrosstheregionundertheAssociationofSouthEastAsianNations(ASEAN).
Thisyearalsomarksthe15thanniversaryoftheChina-ASEANStrategicPartnershipforPeaceandProsperity.ChinahasalwaysplacedASEANsquarelyonthefirstpageofitsforeigncooperationagenda,regardingASEANasapriorityinitsforeignpolicyandakeyregionforthedevelopmentoftheBeltandRoadInitiative,withthetwosideshavingmadenotableachievementsthusfarthroughcooperation.
All-roundpartnership
Inrecentyears,mutualpoliticaltrusthasbeenconsiderablyenhanced,withPresidentXiJinpingproposingthejointdevelopmentofthe21stCenturyMaritimeSilkRoadandtheforgingofacloserChina-ASEANcommunitywithasharedfuture.Thelatterisanambitiousendeavoraimedatfacilitatingregionaleconomiccooperation,strengtheningcross-culturalexchanges,promotingworldpeaceanddevelopment,andadvancingthewell-beingofpeoplearoundtheworld,whichhaswonwidespreadsupportfromASEANcountries.Throughthecollectiveeffortsofallparties,theBeltandRoadInitiativeisbecomingmorecloselyalignedwiththeblueprintoftheASEANCommunityandthedevelopmentstrategiesofitsindividualmemberstates.
Economicandtradecooperationisalsodeepening.ChinaisatpresentASEAN鈥檚largesttradingpartner,whileASEANisthethirdlargesttradingpartner,thefourthlargestexportmarketandthesecondlargestoriginofimportsofChina.ThevolumeoftradebetweenChinaandASEANreached$514.82billionin2017,almostseventimesthatof2003,accountingforoneeighthofChina鈥檚totalforeigntradevolume.
Meanwhile,aggregatetwo-wayinvestmentbetweenChinaandASEANhasexceeded$200billion.InvestmentbyChinesecompanieshasgraduallywidenedfrommanufacturing,mining,wholesaleandretailtoinfrastructuresuchaselectricpower,watersupplyandtelecommunicationsaswellasbroadercommercialservices.Chinahassetupover4,000directinvestmentcompaniesinASEANnations,hiredmorethan300,000localpeopleandhelpedboostlocalsocioeconomicdevelopment.Additionally,regionalandsub-regionaleconomiccooperationisflourishing,theChina-ASEANFreeTradeAreahasbeensuccessfullyupgraded,negotiationsfortheRegionalComprehensiveEconomicPartnership(RCEP)areforgingahead,thePan-BeibuEconomicCooperationRoadmapiscomplete,andLancang-Mekongcooperationisprospering.
Lancang-MekongcooperationisasubregionalcollaborationmechanisminvolvingChinaandfiveothercountriesalongtheMekongRiverthathasgrownrapidlysinceitsfirstleaders鈥檓eetinginMarch2016.Basedonpragmatismandefficiency,ithasmadesignificantprogressincreatinginstitutions,buildingcapacity,implementingprojects,formulatingvisionsandshapingrecognition,andservestohighlightthepotentialofChina-ASEANcooperation.
Furthermore,ChinaandASEANareinvolvedinmutualcoordinationandclosecooperationonregionalandinternationalaf-fairs.BothsidesopposeexternalinterferenceintheSouthChinaSea,activelypromoteconsultationontheCodeofConduct(COC)intheregionandadvocatethesimultaneousrunningofthe鈥渢wowheels鈥漮fconsultationandpracticalmaritimecooperation.ChinaandASEANnationsarealldevelopingcountrieswhichstandagainstunilateralaction,economicnationalismandtradeprotectionismmanifestedbytheDonaldTrumpadministrationoftheUnitedStates,aswellasforupholdingthesettlementofdisputesthroughmultilateralchannels.ChinaandASEANhavegrowntobecomeimportantfiguresinsafeguardingregionalpeaceandstability,aswellascrucialforcespromotingregionaldevelopmentandprosperity.
SincetheBeltandRoadInitiativewasputforwardbyChinain2013,ASEANhasalwaysbeenapriorityareaanditsnationsimportantpartnersininternationalcooperationalongtheBeltandRoadroutes.Bothsidesabidebytheprinciplesofextensiveconsultation,jointcontributionandsharedbenefits,andhavealottogainfromBeltandRoadcooperation.Chinahassignedmemorandumsofunderstanding(MoU)withASEANcountriesincludingSingapore,MyanmarandMalaysia;agreedonintergovernmentalbilateralcooperationplanswithLaosandCambodia;andconductedmutuallybeneficialeconomiccooperationininfrastructureandotherfields.
MarkedbythesigningoftheChinaASEANMoUonCulturalCooperation,peopleto-peopleexchangeshavealsobecomeapriorityforcooperationbetweenChinaandASEANandanewpillaroftheirbilateralrelationship.SincetheconceptofaChinaASEANcommunitywithasharedfuturewasproposed,andparticularlysincethe25thanniversaryofChina-ASEANDialogueRelationsin2016,expandingpeople-to-peopleexchangeshasbecomeanotherkeychannelforChinaandASEANcollaboration.Abilateralpeople-to-peopleexchangemechanismfeaturingculturalindustrycooperation,educationalexchangesandcooperation,youthexchangesandinternationaltourismhasyieldedrichandinnovativeresults,andthescopeoftheseinteractionscontinuestobroaden.Thenumberoftwo-wayvisitsbetweenChinaandtheregionhitanewhighin2017,risingtoalmost50millionfromcloseto30millionin2016.
StudentsfromChinaandASEANnationsparticipateinacompetitionforvocationalskillsonJuly26inGuiyang,capitalcityofsouthwestChina鈥檚GuizhouProvinceXINHUAProgressmade
ForeignMinisterWang鈥檚recentvisittoASEANsawanintenseschedulepackedwithbothbilateralandmultilateralactivities.Wangwasthefirsthigh-levelChineseofficialtovisitMalaysiasincetheelectionofthecountry鈥檚newgovernment,andhereceivedawarmwelcome.ProductiveoutcomeswereattainedasbothsidesreachedconsensusonjointlypromotingtheBeltandRoadInitiativeandpavedthewayforPrimeMinisterMahathirMohamad鈥檚visittoChina.
AttheForeignMinisters鈥橫eetingonEastAsiaCooperationheldinSingapore,Wang,togetherwiththeforeignministersofASEANcountries,vowedtostandagainstunilateralismandtradeprotectionism,andcontinuetopromotefreetradeandregionaleconomicintegrationsoastobuildafairerandmorereasonableinternationaleconomicorder.Allsidestooktheopportunityofthe15thanniversaryoftheestablishmentofthestrategicpartnershipbetweenChinaandASEANtojointlymapoutablueprintforfuturecooperation.
TheChina-ASEAN10+1ForeignMinisters鈥橫eetingonAugust2resultedinthecompletionofasingledrafttextinnegotiationsovertheCOCintheSouthChinaSea,markingmajorprogressinCOCconsultation.BothChinaandASEANagreedtoholdjointmaritimedrillsinOctoberandtoupgradethequalityofsecuritycooperationintheregion.WithacceleratedprogressinCOCconsultation,ChinaandASEANstateshaveshownthewisdomandcapacitytoestablishrulesformutualcomplianceandjointlycontributetopeaceandstabilityintheSouthChinaSea.
TheChina-ASEANstrategicpartnershiphasundergone15yearsofsuccessfuldevelopmentandenvisionsabroaderspacewithgreaterpossibilitiesinthefuture.ThisyearisalsotheChina-ASEANYearofInnovation,andbothsideswillmarkthisoccasionbydeepeningcooperationinnewindustriesandfieldssuchassmartcities,thedigitaleconomyandartificialintelligence.ChinaandASEANwillfurtherworktowardtheChina-ASEANStrategicPartnershipVision2030鈥攁blueprinttofurtherupgradeandenrichtheircooperation,andexplorenewareasandspaceforcollaboration.Lookingbackatthepast15years,ChinaASEANrelationsareatahigherpointnowthaneverbefore.Thetwosidesarejoininghandsandsettingouttomakegreaterprogressinthetheirstrategicpartnershipandbuildacloser-knitChina-ASEANcommunitywithasharedfuture.
CopyeditedbyLaurenceCoultonCommentsto