CHINA-ASEAN IN-PERSON DIPLOMACY RESUMES

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (right) welcomes Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Phnom Penh on October 12, 2020. (FMPRC.GOV.CN)

In October, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi arranged and completed a series of in-person diplomatic talks with ASEAN member states. On October 9 and 10, he held talks with Indonesian President’s special envoy Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Lopez Locsin in Tengchong City in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. From October 11 to 15, he made official visits to Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, and Thailand, as well as a transitory visit to Singapore, to carry out diplomatic consultation with counterparts and senior leaders.

“This is the first Southeast Asian tour by Chinese Foreign Minister amid regular pandemic containment,” said Wang in an interview. “China and ASEAN countries are good neighbors linked by mountains and rivers and good partners that share good times and bad. The ASEAN region has become a demonstration area for the global response to COVID-19 and boosting economic recovery, so it was natural to be chosen as the first destination for China’s attempts at in-person diplomacy.”

Despite the tight schedule, these diplomatic activities were rich in content and varied in format. Xu Liping, a researcher with the Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, commented that the successful meetings demonstrated that both China and ASEAN countries are determined and sincere about promoting deeper cooperation, considering the vigor and vitality of current partnerships.

Promoting China-ASEAN Solidarity

China has always regarded ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and a key area for the Belt and Road Initiative. Among ASEAN’s dialogue partners, China was the first to establish a strategic partnership with the organization, the first to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and the first to launch free trade negotiations with ASEAN. The outbreak of COVID-19 has to some extent limited exchange between the two sides, but bilateral cooperation has increased against headwinds. The first multilateral international conference China co-hosted after the outbreak of COVID-19 was a special China-ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting on fighting the pandemic. ASEAN has replaced the EU as China’s largest trading partner. ASEAN and China are now both each other’s largest trading partner, which is historic for China-ASEAN relations and changing the flow of international trade.

China and ASEAN countries have worked together to overcome difficulties caused by the pandemic, bringing their bilateral relations closer. Chinese President Xi Jinping made phone calls to the leaders of every ASEAN country to express friendship and support. China has shared preventative supplies, medical equipment, and anti-pandemic experience with relevant countries. It has also cooperated with partners on vaccine development. China has sent medical teams to Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia and other countries. It helped the Philippines and Myanmar set up emergency virus detection laboratories. As the world leader in vaccine research and development, China has promised to give the priority access to a vaccine to ASEAN countries when it becomes available and will strengthen information sharing and cooperation in vaccine research and development, production, and vaccination with various institutions in those countries. This spirit of mutual assistance is the essence of a close-knit China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Wang Yi’s Southeast Asian tour took place after a previous plan was canceled because of the pandemic. The visit was important for China and the regional countries to exchange views on bilateral relations and China-ASEAN cooperation in the post-pandemic era. The timing of this visit was important because 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), and the 17th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit will take place in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in November. The year 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of establishment of the China-ASEAN dialogue partnership. As Chinese Foreign Minister, it is Wang Yi’s duty to coordinate specific matters and consolidate the momentum of overall bilateral relations with his ASEAN counterparts.

On October 13, Wang Yi met Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein in Kuala Lumpur. Hishammuddin remarked that Wang was the first foreign minister Malaysia officially hosted since the outbreak of COVID-19, which reflects the close bond between the two countries. He expressed heartfelt gratitude to China on behalf of the people of Malaysia for its substantial support and assistance in fighting the pandemic. Hishammuddin said Malaysia stands ready to continuously strengthen anti-pandemic cooperation with China and jointly respond to challenges in the post-pandemic era.

In his meeting with Wang Yi in Vientiane on October 14, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President Bounnhang Vorachit said Laos-China relations continued developing with positive momentum despite the pandemic. He said Laos is ready to work with China to push for new progress on cooperation in existing areas and expand cooperation into new realms to deepen the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. Laos firmly supports China in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and stands with China to jointly build the Laos-China community with a shared future, according to the Lao President.

“This visit consolidated China-ASEAN solidarity,” said Wang Yi in an interview. “During our meetings, China reached broad consensus with Cambodia and Laos, respectively, on further promoting building of a community with a shared future. China and Malaysia agreed to organize a High-Level Committee on Malaysia-China Post Pandemic Cooperation led by the two foreign ministers. China and Thailand reaffirmed commitment to cementing the traditional ties of ‘Jeen Thai Phee Nong Gan (China and Thailand are Kith and Kin).’” China also made agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and other countries on strengthening post-pandemic cooperation.

Strengthening Economic and Trade Relations

Despite the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, China-ASEAN trade continues to grow, reflecting the solid foundation and strong resilience of bilateral trade. Statistics show that from January to August this year, the total volume of trade between China and ASEAN reached US$416.55 billion, an increase of 3.8 percent over the same period last year, and ASEAN made history by becoming China’s largest trading partner. In the first half of this year, China’s investment in ASEAN reached US$6.23 billion, up 53.1 percent from the same period last year, accounting for 76.7 percent of China’s total investment in countries along the Belt and Road over the same period. It should be noted that the two sides have transformed risk into opportunity by exploring new areas for cooperation. China’s bilateral cooperation with Indonesia, the largest ASEAN economy, is a good example. The two sides have agreed to deepen cooperation in e-commerce, artificial intelligence, big data, 5G, cloud computing, and other new forms and models of business. It was not easy for China-ASEAN trade to maintain expansion amid lackluster global trade. In the current period of regular pandemic prevention and control, China and ASEAN countries need to continue efforts to boost economic recovery.

During this visit, Wang Yi reached consensus with his counterparts on strengthening economic and trade cooperation in the post-pandemic era. In Cambodia, he joined Prime Minister Hun Sen to witness the signing of the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), a deal reached with a high level of openness, broad coverage, and mutual benefits that has been considered a new milestone in the development of bilateral economic and trade relations. In Malaysia, the two sides agreed to continue advancement of cooperation on the “Two Countries, Twin Parks,” namely, China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park and Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park, the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), and other key projects. In Laos, the two sides agreed to accelerate construction of the China-Laos Railway and that China would waive tariffs on 97.4 percent of Cambodian goods. In Thailand, the two sides agreed to promote synergy between Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor and south China’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to improve regional interconnectivity.

On October 13, Wang Yi made a transitory stop in Singapore and held talks with Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Balakrishnan said that Singapore hopes to strengthen exchange and cooperation between the two countries, maintain high-level exchange, and resume normal personnel exchanges as soon as possible with regular prevention and control protocols in place to promote deeper development of Singapore-China relations.

Already, China has established “fast lanes” for personnel and “green lanes” for goods from Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia and other countries and gradually resumed direct international flights while actively exploring establishment of a “fast lane” for regional personnel exchange and a network of “green lanes” for materials circulation to maintain the stability of regional supply and industrial chains. Such measures provide an important guarantee for both sides to overcome the difficulties of the pandemic and boost economic recovery.

On November 15, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement was officially signed at the 4th RCEP Summit via video link and witnessed by leaders of all 15 participating countries.

“November 15 was a milestone moment,” commented Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in a speech at the summit. “Launching the world’s largest free trade bloc featuring the largest population, most diverse membership and greatest development potential, the RCEP agreement represents not only a landmark achievement in East Asian regional cooperation, but more importantly, it marks a victory for multilateralism and free trade.”

Maintaining Regional Peace and Stability

Wang Yi’s visit was also meant to promote regional peace and stability. On October 13, he met the press alongside Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin in Kuala Lumpur. He talked about the important consensus the two sides reached including maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.

“The South China Sea should not be taken advantage of by global powers for gaming or see the rampage of gunboats,” he said. “China and ASEAN countries have full ability and wisdom as well as responsibility to maintain peace and tranquility in the South China Sea.”

In a meeting between Wang and Indonesian President’s special envoy Luhut in Yunnan on October 9, Luhut said that regional peace and stability should be jointly maintained by the countries and peoples in the region without outside interference and that Indonesia stands ready to support multilateralism with China and promote regional and international cooperation on development.

In recent years, countries outside the region have manipulated the South China Sea issue and used it to flex military might by sending military aircraft and vessels into the region with intentions to undermine China-ASEAN relations and regional peace and stability, which is against the national interests of all regional countries. China and ASEAN countries are now promoting the consultation process on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea to reach an early agreement on effective regional rules jointly recognized by China and ASEAN countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. In the context of a complex international situation with escalating unilateralism and bullying, China and ASEAN countries share extensive common interests in upholding fairness and justice, safeguarding multilateralism, and protecting the common interests of emerging economies. The foundation for cooperation between the two sides should not be undermined by external political noise.

It is in the long-term interests of all regional countries to strengthen China-ASEAN cooperation and jointly safeguard stability. It also meets the expectations of the general public in ASEAN countries. On October 5, the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia released the results of a public survey on the ASEAN-China relationship conducted from June to October 2020, titled Assessing the Present and Envisioning the Future of ASEAN-China Relations. The survey involved 1,000 respondents from 10 ASEAN member states representing five segments of the general public: government officials, academia, business community, civil society, and students. The survey showed that in general, the ASEAN-China relationship is viewed as mutually beneficial and contributing positively to peace, stability, and progress in the region. Respondents chose five areas as “most satisfactory” in terms of ASEAN-China cooperation: trade (57%), investment (55%), tourism (49%), industry 4.0 (43%), and technology (39%). About 85 percent of respondents indicated enthusiasm about deepening cooperation between ASEAN and China and 69 percent were confident that the Belt and Road Initiative was a key component of ASEAN-China win-win cooperation. On sectors for future ASEAN-China cooperation, the top choices were vaccine cooperation (94%), revitalization of ASEAN manufacturing (90%), and cooperation in safeguarding multilateralism (89%). With better containment of the pandemic, it’s time for China and ASEAN to bolster cooperation and bilateral relations to a higher level.

In the near future, a series of important events such as the China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit will provide new opportunities for China and ASEAN countries to deepen cooperation on economic recovery from the pandemic, which will help build a closer community with a shared future and contribute greatly to peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) poses with Indonesian President’s special envoy Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan after their talks in Yunnan on October 9, 2020. (FMPRC.GOV.CN)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (right) meets with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Phnom Penh on October 12, 2020. (FMPRC.GOV.CN)

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (first left) holds talks with Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin (first right) in Kuala Lumpur on October 13, 2020. (FMPRC.GOV.CN)

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan after their talks in Singapore on October 13, 2020. (FMPRC.GOV.CN)

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President Bounnhang Vorachit (right) meets with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Vientiane on October 14, 2020. (FMPRC.GOV.CN)

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha poses with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok on October 15, 2020. (FMPRC.GOV.CN)

most satisfactory

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Respondents chose five areas as “most satisfactory” in terms of ASEAN-China cooperation: trade (57%), investment (55%), tourism (49%), industry 4.0 (43%), and technology (39%). About 85 percent of respondents indicated enthusiasm about deepening cooperation between ASEAN and China and 69 percent were confident that the Belt and Road Initiative was a key component of ASEAN-China win-win cooperation. On sectors for future ASEAN-China cooperation, the top choices were vaccine cooperation (94%), revitalization of ASEAN manufacturing (90%), and cooperation in safeguarding multilateralism (89%).
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Statistics show that from January to August this year, the total volume of trade between China and ASEAN reached US$416.55 billion, an increase of 3.8 percent over the same period last year.
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ASEAN made history by becoming China’s largest trading partner. In the first half of this year, China’s investment in ASEAN reached US$6.23 billion, up 53.1 percent from the same period last year, accounting for 76.7 percent of China’s total investment in countries along the Belt and Road over the same period.