China-ASEAN Cooperation Entering‘Period of Maturity’

By Du Lan

Major meetings among top leaders represent increased willingness to work together in regional cooperation efforts

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (fifth left) attends the 20th ASEAN-China Summit in Manila on Nov. 13, 2017.

On Nov. 10, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended an informal dialogue between APEC and ASEAN leaders in Da Nang,Vietnam. The leaders held discussions on cooperation between the two sides under the theme of “Partnering for New Dynamism for a Comprehensively Connected and Integrated Asia-Pacific”.After the meetings in Da Nang, Xi paid state visits to Vietnam and Laos as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President of the People’s Republic of China.

On Nov. 12-16, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the Philippines for an official visit and a series of leaders’ meetings on East Asian cooperation,including the 20th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders’ meeting,the 20th ASEAN-China, Japan and Republic of Korea (10+3)leaders’ meeting, the 12th East Asia Summit and the leaders’ meeting on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Top Chinese leaders’visits to ASEAN countries and attendance to a series of meetings on regional cooperation shortly after the conclusion of the 19th CPC National Congress were of special significance to China’s neighborhood diplomacy in a new era.

Cooperation Upgraded

The year 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of “10+3”cooperation. This year sees the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership.At this important juncture,such meetings have yielded substantial results. China and ASEAN have issued a number of new documents, initiatives and proposals that have enhanced mutual trust and expanded cooperation.

China has proposed that China and ASEAN formulate a China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 and upgrade the “2+7” cooperation framework into a “3+X”cooperation framework,underpinned by the three pillars of political security, economic cooperation and people-topeople exchange and supported by cooperation in multiple sectors. China has also suggested that China and ASEAN further synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and deepen all-round cooperation in business, finance, infrastructure,rules and mechanisms and human resources.

The two sides have agreed to actively advance negotiations on a “Code of Conduct in the South China Sea”. They are nearing completion on negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and are deepening cooperation in priority areas such as food,tourism and poverty reduction.It is expected that China-ASEAN cooperation will enter a “period of maturity” for allround development.

In 1991, China and ASEAN officially launched the dialogue process. Over the 26 years of dialogue relations, China has been a firm supporter of ASEAN community building and played a greater role alongside ASEAN in regional and international affairs. As a country outside the region,China was the first to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the first to support ASEAN’s centrality in regional cooperation and the first to establish a strategic partnership with ASEAN. At present, China and ASEAN are actively formulating a cooperation plan for the next five years. China is also discussing the signing of a treaty on good neighborliness and friendship with ASEAN.

Economic cooperation and trade are important cornerstones and pillars of China-ASEAN relations. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for eight consecutive years while ASEAN has ranked as China’s third largest trading partner six years in a row.What’s more, talks for upgrading the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) were completed last year. The upgraded version is being implemented. With the deepening of political mutual trust, the rapid development of economic and trade cooperation, and the advancement of cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, the China-ASEAN relationship has become the most dynamic and most profound among ASEAN’s relationships with its dialogue partners.

China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for eight consecutive years while ASEAN has ranked as China’s third largest trading partner six years in a row.

Bright Prospects

ASEAN member states have responded positively to the Belt and Road Initiative. In May 2017, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing. State leaders from seven ASEAN member states and high-level delegations from the other three ASEAN member states attended the meeting, an indication of the great importance that ASEAN member states have attached to the Initiative.

The Belt and Road construction has made great progress and remarkable achievements in ASEAN. A series of major projects have been inaugurated. Investment in various sectors is gradually increasing. As President Xi said at the 19th CPC National Congress, “China will not close its door to the world; we will only become more and more open.” China and ASEAN share a similar stance in promoting regional economic and trade cooperation. Both have explicitly opposed trade protectionism and upheld regional openness,liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.

China has always actively participated in and pushed forward RCEP negotiations,which were formally launched in November 2012. Substantial progress has been made in the negotiations. The leaders’meeting on the RCEP is an expression of the prospective members’ desire to conclude negotiations at an early date and promote regional economic cooperation. In the future, within multilateral cooperation frameworks,such as the RCEP and “10+3”,China and ASEAN will be more closely interconnected and interdependent. The acceleration of regional economic integration will inject more vitality into the development of the region.

As the situation in the South China Sea has shown positive momentum, the security environment in the region remains stable in general.With the building of the Belt and Road, China-ASEAN cooperation has become increasingly close.

According to General Secretary Xi’s speech at the 19th CPC National Congress, China will hold high the banner of peace, development and winwin cooperation, and “deepen relations with its neighbors in accordance with the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, as well as the policy of forging friendship and partnership with its neighbors.” China will firmly prioritize ASEAN member states in the country’s peripheral diplomacy.

At this important juncture of China-ASEAN relations and East Asian cooperation, it is necessary for us to draw experience and inspirations from past cooperation and chart the course for our future relations. In the future, China and ASEAN will work together for a new chapter of win-win cooperation and common prosperity, and build a community of a shared future with common ideals, common prosperity and common responsibility.