By Song Qingrun

A helicopter transports a passenger from a “damaged vessel” to a rescue vessel in the largest-ever China-ASEAN joint exercise on maritime search and rescue on October 31, 2017.

China and ASEAN countries are close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers. As one of the organizations with the highest level of regional economic cooperation among developing countries in the world, ASEAN is also the leader in integrating East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.Relations between China and ASEAN have evolved from engagement to dialogue, cooperation mechanisms,strategic partnerships and extensive cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

This year marks the 15th anniversary of China-ASEAN strategic partnership. Over the past 15 years, especially in the last five years since the introduction of the BRI,this strategic partnership has made steady progress.The two sides have continuously carried out various forms of pragmatic cooperation in many fields, forging a closer community of common prosperity.

Network of Partnerships

Political and diplomatic interactions between China and ASEAN have been intensive, consisting of exchange visits by leaders and continuous strengthening of highlevel cooperation and mutual trust in various fields,which has lifted bilateral relations to new levels. China was the first country outside Southeast Asia to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and the first country outside Southeast Asia to establish a strategic partnership with ASEAN, which provided new impetus for both sides to upgrade their political and diplomatic relations and enhance their strategic mutual trust. These close political and diplomatic interactions provided an important guarantee for the success of China-ASEAN cooperation. Since the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2003, the two sides have promoted the sustainable development of bilateral cooperation through building more mechanisms such as the China-ASEAN Summit (10+1), the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea Summit (10+3).

China has established individual partnerships with all 10 ASEAN member states, an extremely rare feat in diplomatic relations with regional blocks. Since the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership in October 2003, China has established different forms of bilateral partnerships (comprehensive strategic partnership, strategic cooperative partnership, etc.)with all of its member states. The year 2016 marked the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations.To strengthen and upgrade the strategic partnership,good-neighborly friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation by 2020, the two sides adopted the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity (2016-2020).According to the plan, the two sides agreed to strengthen comprehensive cooperation over the next five years in realms of politics, economics, security, connectivity,finance, agriculture, maritime (oceanic) affairs,science and technology, tourism, energy, intellectual property, quality control, customs, education, health,environment, media, judiciary, combating transnational crime and protecting human rights.

On May 7, 2018, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended the launch of celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. He emphasized in his keynote speech that China would “continue to respect the national conditions and development paths of ASEAN countries, and enhance exchange in governance,development philosophy, society and culture to jointly foster a spirit of China-ASEAN cooperation characterized by mutual trust, mutual accommodation, mutual benefit and mutual assistance.” “Let’s forge ahead by connecting our dreams and sharing opportunities,” the premier added. “Together, we can write a new chapter of China-ASEAN cooperation and bring to the world a new Asian miracle.”

On the South China Sea issue, foreign ministers of China and ASEAN adopted the framework for the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, which laid a solid foundation for consultation on an effective COC.The two sides have worked together to stabilize the situation in the South China Sea without involvement of external forces, which is conducive for the two sides to expand cooperation within the framework of the BRI.

China will continue to respect the national conditions and development paths of ASEAN countries, and enhance exchange in governance, development philosophy, society and culture to jointly foster a spirit of China-ASEAN cooperation characterized by mutual trust, mutual accommodation, mutual benefit and mutual assistance.

Economic and Trade Cooperation

China and ASEAN have established a number of mechanisms and initiatives to promote economic and trade cooperation. Both have participated in some regional economic and trade mechanisms. Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has developed by leaps and bounds. The two sides have set up a series of institutional cooperation arrangements for regional economic integration, setting several world records.The most important purpose of regional cooperation mechanisms such as 10+1, 10+3 and East Asia Summit is to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.

Furthermore, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area(ACFTA) was officially established on January 1, 2010 as the FTA affecting the largest population (approximately 2 billion) and the largest FTA among developing countries in the world. China and ASEAN are each other’s first partner regional block or country to establish a free trade area. In 2015, China and ASEAN signed the ACFTA Upgrade Protocol which came into effect on July 1,2016. The upgraded version of the protocol covers trade of goods and services, investment, economic and technological cooperation, greatly boosting economic and trade cooperation between the two sides and promoting the process of regional integration and the trade integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

Additionally, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation(LMC) mechanism was set up in November 2015 as the first important subregional cooperation mechanism between China and ASEAN.

China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) has become an important channel for promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation. It is also an important expo held regularly by ASEAN with a major non-ASEAN country. The first CAEXPO was held in Nanning, China in November 2004. The Expo has been held regularly ever since and attracted participation from government leaders, businesspeople, experts, scholars, and nongovernmental figures from both sides. Forums on different subjects take place on the sidelines of the expo to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields.

The introduction of the BRI injected powerful impetus into comprehensive bilateral cooperation including economic and trade cooperation. The two sides have closely synergized their development strategies. In 2010, ASEAN published the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC). In 2016, the plan was updated to MPAC 2025 as a guidance document for connectivity among ASEAN member states and their regional partners.

In the meantime, China has been actively promoting the connectivity and economic and trade cooperation among the countries in the region. During his visit to Indonesia in October 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a proposal calling for joint efforts to build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to promote broader bilateral cooperation in areas such as investment, trade,connectivity, capacity cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Malaysian exhibitors share information with a visitor at the 14th China-ASEAN Expo on September 13, 2017.

Contestants perform in thefinal round of the First Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Chinese Contest for ASEAN Students on December 16, 2017. More than 300 students participated.

Bilateral trade has maintained sustained growth momentum with the exception of slight decline in a few individual years. The growth rate in some years was significantly higher than the average growth rate of world trade. By the end of 2017, ASEAN had been China’s third largest trading partner for seven consecutive years and China had been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years. Both rose to a higher position in each other’s foreign trade. From January to March 2018, bilateral trade volume was US$133.64 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.9 percent, a very high growth rate in world trade.

Two-way investment has reached a record high. In 2003, neither was the main source of foreign direct investment (FDI) of the other side. But the two sides are now important sources of FDI for each other. Thailand and some other ASEAN countries were the first to invest in China at the beginning of China’s reform and opening-up. By the end of 2003, ASEAN countries had actually invested US$32.37 billion in China, ranking sixth among all countries and regions investing in China, while China’s agreed investment in ASEAN was US$941 million, or 2.9 percent of ASEAN’s investment in China during the same period. At the time, China’s sharein ASEAN’s FDI was minimal. In recent years, especially since the introduction of the BRI, two-way investment has increased rapidly, and both sides have become important sources of FDI for each other. As of March 2018, cumulative two-way investment between ASEAN and China exceeded US$196.64 billion. The cumulative actual investment of ASEAN countries in China reached US$113.06 billion, accounting for 5.8 percent of China’s total FDI, while China’s total investment in ASEAN amounted to US$83.58 billion. In recent years, China’s annual investment in ASEAN surpassed ASEAN’s annual investment in China, gradually balancing the twoway investment. In 2017, China’s investment in ASEAN countries totaled US$9.47 billion, compared with ASEAN’s investment in China of US$5.08 billion during the same period. From January to March 2018, China invested US$2.56 billion in ASEAN countries compared to ASEAN’s US$2.05 billion investment in China over the same period.

Thefirst Southern Transport Corridor train (Kunming-Qinzhou) departs Kunming in Yunnan Province for Qinzhou Port in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on May 18, 2018. From Qinzhou, the cargo would be shipped to Singapore.

Scale model at the Exhibition Center of the China-ASEAN Nanning Airport Fusui Economic Zone.

Investment cooperation in infrastructure and connectivity has increased, a process accelerated by the BRI. By the end of March 2018, China had signed contracts worth US$357.43 billion with ASEAN countries, completing turnover of US$235.95 billion.Planned projects include highways, railways, sea ports,airports and bridges. Construction of the China-Laos Railway, China-Thailand Railway and Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway has begun. China has discussed or carried out construction of roads, bridges, industrial parks and other major infrastructure or connectivity projects with the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia,Malaysia, Singapore and other countries.

People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges

People-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two sides have seen a marked increase. In 2017, nearly 50 million trips were made between the two sides, about 10 times more than in 2003, with some 2,700 flights shuttling between China and ASEAN countries each week. China is already the leading source country of foreign passenger arrivals to ASEAN. Moreover, thanks to strengthening of cooperation between China and ASEAN within the framework of the BRI, sea, land, and air connectivity has continuously improved, contributing to a significant boost in cooperation between the two sides.It is expected that people-to-people exchanges between the two sides will continue to grow.

China-ASEAN exchange and cooperation in the fields of education and culture have also increased significantly. People-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation have become an important pillar of China-ASEAN relations. By 2017, China and ASEAN had exchanged more than 200,000 students. China has set up six cultural centers in ASEAN countries. Since 2008,China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week has been a regular annual event in Guiyang, China. In recent years,the two sides have designated several theme years such as the Year of Science & Technology Cooperation, Year of Cultural Cooperation, Year of Maritime Cooperation and Year of Tourism Cooperation. This year is the China-ASEAN Year of Innovation.

For a long time, ASEAN has been the priority in China’s peripheral diplomacy, while the China-ASEAN relationship has become the most dynamic and most profound among ASEAN’s relationships with dialogue partners. China proposed a “3+X” cooperation framework, underpinned by the three pillars of political security, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges and supported by cooperation across multiple sectors. Through the joint efforts of China and ASEAN, relations are expected to be further upgraded in quality over the next 15 years, during which time bilateral cooperation will bear more fruitful results that will benefit not only both sides and their peoples, but also the development and stability of the region and the world as a whole.