— China-ASEAN High-Level Forum Depicts the Blueprint for the Next Decade

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership. Both to retrospect the past and explore the future development of the bilateral ties, the China-ASEAN High-Level Forum was held on August 2 in Bangkok, capital of Thailand. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, said: “In the past ten years, ASEAN’s relations with China have been robust, action-oriented, and diversified, based on friendship, mutual trust, and confidence. Bilateral relations between the two sides have been upgraded to a new level through a series of cooperation, and witnessed tremendous development in all aspects.”

Zhai Kun, an expert on Southeast Asian studies with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told People’s Daily that the forum focuses on drawing up the blueprint of China-ASEAN relation for the next ten years. China and ASEAN should not only step up efforts to build an upgraded version of the China-ASEAN FTA, but also upgrade the relations between China and ASEAN countries as a whole, Zhai said.

Focus on the next decade

Today, China-ASEAN relations stand once again at a new starting point. In a speech at the opening ceremony, Surapong said that in the next ten years, the political mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation as well as cultural exchanges between China and ASEAN will play an important role in promoting peace and stability in the region as well as creating a major engine of world economic growth. How to further develop China-ASEAN relations has become the focus of all the conference’s participants.

Professor Do Tien Sam, Director of the Chinese Studies Centre and Director of the Centre for ASEAN-China Studies in Viet Nam National Academy of Social Sciences, said the current China and ASEAN relations are blessed with unprecedented opportunities, and China is playing an increasingly important role. China-ASEAN relations are of vital importance to both sides. It will benefit all parties to promote the China-ASEAN ties. There is a very broad space for cooperation between the two sides. They should try to find growth points in new areas to promote the continuous development of bilateral relations. “We can start from small to large, from easy to difficult, to build trust in the process of cooperation and enhance mutual understanding,” he said.

Regarding the further development of the China-ASEAN ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who participated in the forum, said that relations with ASEAN have always topped China’s diplomatic agenda. A review of the past reveals that in growing China-ASEAN relations, the most important foundation is the region’s peace and stability that we have jointly preserved, the most important consensus is to facilitate common development through cooperation, and the most important experience is sticking to the “Asian way” and the “ASEAN way” and resolving differences through friendly consultation and equal-footed dialogue.

Zhai said that China-ASEAN is building up a mansion of peace and prosperity. While the roof of the building is the strategic partnership between the two sides, economic cooperation is the most solid pillar. And in the meantime, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) are the political and security pillars. In the next 10 years, the two sides should work to build a more active security cooperation mechanism. In addition, China and ASEAN should also attach importance to the building of social and cultural pillars.

To avoid the South China Sea issue becoming a barometer of bilateral ties

It is undeniable that potential uncertainties exist in the development of China-ASEAN relations. However, all the participants agreed that it will not affect the overall bilateral relations. Surapong said that although China and some Southeast Asian countries have disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, to maintain a peaceful external environment is a mutual goal for both sides. As for sensitive issues, the two sides should resolve them through dialogue and mutual trust. South China Sea should not become the barometer of China-ASEAN relations. We should make efforts to turn South China Sea from a sea of uncertainty and distrust into a sea of cooperation and trust, and turn different propositions into consensus of cooperation. We should strengthen cooperation and achieve peace and stability through common interests, showing a mature partnership to the outside world, Surapong added.

Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, said that China-ASEAN relations are very good as a whole, and cooperation has brought great benefits to both sides while difference occupies only a small portion. In addition, although the South China Sea issue involves some ASEAN countries, it is not an issue between China and the entire ASEAN. The two sides should emphasize cooperation, the strategic relationship and the future, while focus on development of the whole region. Small differences will not affect the large-scale cooperation between the two sides.

Khun Razi, Director with ASEAN Studies Center under Thammasat University, Thailand, said that it might be difficult to resolve the South China Sea issue in one generation, but we can leave it to the next generation. However, we should still try to find a solution to the problem, preventing it from swelling and undermining the established China-ASEAN friendship and cooperation.

Soeung Rathchavy, Secretary of State of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia indicates that although the South China Sea dispute is sensitive and complex and there are misunderstandings over some issues, we hope that the South China Sea issue will not affect China-ASEAN cooperation process. “Why not look at the good side of China-ASEAN relations? The South China Sea issue can be largely addressed through dialogue and consultation by the two sides,” said Rathchavy.

Recently, the Philippines continue to strengthen military cooperation with countries including the United States and Japan. Observers from different countries believe that it is not conducive to problem solving, and it will damage regional peace and stability. During an interview, Sam Bateman, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University told People’s Daily that increased military actions is not conducive to solving the South China Sea problem. All parties concerned should not seek military approach on the issue; instead, they should resolve the issue through peaceful negotiation and dialogue.

When talking about future development of China-ASEAN relations, Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, noted that China-ASEAN relations stand once again at a new starting point. China and ASEAN should deepen cooperation in all fields and step up efforts to build an upgraded version of China-ASEAN FTA. They should also accelerate progress towards all-dimensional connectivity, engage in maritime cooperation, continue to enrich and improve the regional cooperation structure, enhance friendship among our peoples, further expand security cooperation and properly settle differences with peaceful means through equal-footed dialogue and friendly consultation.

China’s development continues to benefit the whole region

In the coming five years, China’s Outward Direct Investment (ODI) will reach $500 billion, while its imports will reach $10 trillion and its outbound tourists will exceed 400 million. In accordance with this estimates, Wang said that as China’s close neighbor, top investment destination by Chinese companies, third largest trading partner and a major tourist destination, ASEAN will undoubtedly benefit from China’s future economic development.

“China’s development will undoubtedly benefit the region, and Asia is becoming the center of the world economy, while China is a strong driving force,” said Sihasak. “China’s promotion of China-ASEAN FTA and the free trade in the region is of great significance to the whole area, especially to these ASEAN countries mainly relying on imports.”

Zhai said China and ASEAN countries should work together to maintain peace and stability of Asia. In the process of strengthening the three pillars of China-ASEAN cooperation, China also put forward the win-win concept which is extremely important.

Surapong said that in the next ten years, the political mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation as well as cultural exchanges between China and ASEAN will play an important role in promoting peace and stability in the region as well as creating a major engine of world economic growth. He appreciated China’s catalytic role in building the ASEAN Community. China’s development and its interconnection and cooperation with ASEAN, can bring opportunities to promote the building of the ASEAN Community and the common development of the region.

Khun Razi said how to achieve common and synchronous development with China is very important for ASEAN countries, which requires both sides to enhance cooperation on hardware as well as software. The former include some interconnection large-scale infrastructure construction, the later mainly includes personnel exchanges. In the future, China-ASEAN relations will be built into an example of relations between China and other regions, a paradigm of cooperation and achieving common development of a fast-growing China with the relatively slow developing country or region. This is a sound exploration for China, Asia-Pacific as well as the whole world.