From bustling ports brimming with goods to digital arenas buzzing with new opportunities, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are increasingly coming together in a partnership that promises common prosperity and a shared future filled with boundless potential.
Since establishing a dialogue relationship more than three decades ago, China and ASEAN have stood together and supported each other through thick and thin, developing a model featuring the most dynamic and fruitful cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.
As the world’s second and fifth-largest economies, respectively, China and ASEAN represent a quarter of the global population, and their commitment to win-win cooperation could offer stability and growth for a world overshadowed by rising economic uncertainty and fragmentation.
WIN-WIN COOPERATION
How fast can a Malaysian fresh durian reach Chinese consumers from its orchard of origin? This time may well be shorter than many can imagine.
Thanks to an efficient logistics network as well as rapid inspection and expedited clearance procedures between China and the Southeast Asian country, this delicacy can be harvested and appear in a Chinese supermarket thousands of kilometers away within just 24 hours — a sprint that allows consumers to relish the fruit at its freshest.
Grown across tropical Southeast Asia, durian is known as the “king of fruits,” cherished by consumers for its creamy texture and intense aroma.
China’s appetite for this thorny fruit has soared in recent years, with its imports reaching a record of 1.56 million tonnes in 2024, according to customs data.
The story of the durian is just one example of the fruitful outcomes resulting from win-win cooperation between China and ASEAN. Numbers and facts paint the picture of a partnership in full bloom.
Notably, China and ASEAN have been each other’s largest trading partners for five consecutive years. Bilateral trade value has soared from less than 8 billion U.S. dollars in 1991 to nearly one trillion dollars in 2024. Accumulated two-way investment has also been booming — and it had surpassed 400 billion dollars as of July 2024.
This vigorous growth has come amid the two sides’ continued efforts to enhance trade and investment facilitation, including upgrading of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).
Officials and analysts have seen the CAFTA as a cornerstone of China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation, and are expecting the upgraded CAFTA to take this role a step further, opening up more sectors for trade and investment, while promoting greater regulatory alignment.
China and ASEAN have substantially concluded upgrade negotiations concerning Version 3.0 CAFTA, and “we believe that with the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries, economic and trade cooperation between the two sides will surely achieve new and greater development,” Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of China’s General Administration of Customs, said this week.
CLOSER BOND
About two hours’ drive from downtown Bangkok, near the Laem Chabang port in eastern Thailand, lies a well-planned industrial zone, known as the Thai-Chinese Rayong industrial zone.
Jointly built by China’s Holley Group and Amata Group of Thailand in 2006, this industrial zone was one of the first Chinese overseas industrial sites, serving as a witness and contributor to the expanding industrial cooperation between China and ASEAN.
Now home to 270 companies, most of which are Chinese-invested, the industrial zone has attracted a combined investment of more than 5.2 billion U.S. dollars and provided over 60,000 local jobs, said Zhao Bin, president of the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Realty Development Co.
Zhao sees Belt and Road cooperation and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as catalysts for the industrial zone’s development, which not only helps Chinese companies to invest in Southeast Asia, but also facilitates technology transfer to Thailand and skills development in local workforce.
Belt and Road cooperation, the RCEP and various other arrangements have enhanced partnership between China and ASEAN countries, with the two sides weaving a tighter economic fabric and unlocking new development potential, analysts said.
Numerous infrastructure projects are having positive impacts across the region, enhancing connectivity and reducing logistics costs.
In Laos, the over 1,000-km-long China-Laos Railway linking Vientiane, the capital of Laos, with Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, has helped convert the landlocked country into a land-linked hub, and significantly facilitated cross-border movement of people and goods since it started operating in December 2021.
On the financial front, ASEAN and China are also working to strengthen the regional safety net against financial risks. An ASEAN+3 meeting, featuring ASEAN, China, Japan and Republic of Korea, was held early this month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during which financial officials reached consensus on deepening policy coordination and strengthening regional financial safeguards.
Moreover, collaborative efforts span a wide range of activities, with people-to-people and cultural exchanges, such as educational cooperation and visa-free travel arrangements, flourishing.
Kheang Hong Kry, a Cambodian student studying electrical engineering at Guangxi University in Nanning, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was excited about the establishment of the China-ASEAN Institute of Energy last month. Calling it “a bridge” of learning and cooperation, he said the institute gives international students access to cutting-edge knowledge in China’s energy and power sectors, laying a foundation for their future career development.
NEW COOPERATION FRONTIERS
Emerging fields such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and clean energy are adding to the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and ASEAN.
In Vietnam, Chinese-made agricultural drones are helping farmers spray pesticide, making their work easier and safer, while at Laem Chabang port in Thailand, China’s electric and self-driving trucks have become reliable partners of port workers. In addition, Malaysian national automaker Proton has launched its first electric vehicle model, which was co-developed with Chinese automaker Geely. In Indonesia, the Cirata floating solar power plant, constructed by a Chinese company, has boosted the country’s supply of renewable energy.
Dato’ Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, president of the Malaysia-China Friendship Association, told media that emerging fields such as green energy, electric vehicles and digital technology have provided new impetus for the expansion of cooperation between these two countries.
Such cooperation will help Malaysia improve productivity, promote technology transfer and train talent, and contribute to Malaysia’s development and prosperity, he said.
Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, noted that the close ties between China and ASEAN are of great significance — not only to Asia but also to the broader international community.
Zhou said deepening cooperation between the two sides will effectively facilitate the complementarity of their respective advantages. “It also provides a model for regional economic and trade rules integration, effectively boosting economic globalization.”
