China-ASEAN Relations

The following sections are included:

• Preface
• About the Editors
• Contents

The year 2014 marked the beginning of the second decade of China–ASEAN strategic partnership as well as the start of a “diamond decade”, continuing from the previous “golden decade”. Under the guidance of building a “China–ASEAN community of common destiny” and “21^st Century Maritime Silk Road”, cooperation between these two sides has been expanded in areas and enriched in content. This report assesses the achievements and existing problems of China–ASEAN cooperation in 2014 and their cooperation trends in 2015 from political, economic, diplomatic, security, military, maritime and cultural perspectives.

In the year 2014, Thailand underwent waves of political unrest. Politically, it was like a world of ice and fire, where street protests and violent incidents were frequently staged and later the Royal Thai Army (RTA) restored a seemingly peaceful order and launched military rule. Socially and economically, the country made a difficult recovery after a spate of heavy blows. Under the influence of the Thai coup d’état, China–Thailand bilateral relations and cooperation experienced two development stages, and the highlight was found at the end of 2014.

In 2014, Vietnam enjoyed political stability, vibrant diplomacy, and sound economic development. Much progress was achieved in the areas of society, people’s livelihoods, education, science and technology, and reform and innovation. China and Vietnam maintained a good-neighborly relationship, strengthened political mutual trust and high-level reciprocal visits, carefully handled the South China Sea disputes, and deepened mutual interests and cooperation. In spite of the anti-Chinese protests, the cooperation foundation was still solid. Together with the continuous improvement of China–Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, great success was made in various cooperation fields.

The following sections are included:

• Myanmar National Situation 2014
• China–Myanmar Bilateral Cooperation
• China–Myanmar Cooperation Prospect in 2015

The following sections are included:

• Malaysia National Situation 2014
• China and Malaysia Bilateral Cooperation
• China–Malaysia Cooperation Prospect 2015

Building on the progress achieved in cooperation in 2013, more cooperation areas could be highlighted in politics, economy, agriculture, education, and infrastructure in 2014. Moreover, both sides enhanced mutual connectivity as well. Several strikes and protests in Cambodia in 2014 had little influence on Chinese businesses there. Both countries conducted more frequent trade exchanges and increased the number of contracts and projects. Generally speaking, more stable, diversified, and deepened China–Cambodia ties were taking shape.

The following sections are included:

• Indonesia National Situation 2014
• China–Indonesia Bilateral Cooperation
• China–Indonesia Cooperation Prospect 2015

The following sections are included:

• Singapore National Situation 2014
• China–Singapore Bilateral Cooperation
• China–Singapore Cooperation Prospect 2015

The following sections are included:

• Laos National Situation 2014
• China–Laos Bilateral Cooperation
• China–Laos Cooperation Prospects 2015

The following sections are included:

• The Philippines National Situation 2014
• China–Philippines Cooperation 2014
• China–Philippines Cooperation Prospects 2015

The following sections are included:

• Brunei National Situation 2014
• China–Brunei Bilateral Cooperation 2014
• Prospect of and Advice on China–Brunei Cooperation 2015

The following sections are included:

• Proposal and Main Content of the Belt and Road Initiative
• The Motives of the Belt and Road Initiative
• The Principles and Significance of China–ASEAN Community of Common Destiny
• The Belt and Road Helps Build the China–ASEAN Community of Common Destiny
• Bibliography

The following sections are included:

• General Introduction of China–ASEAN Investment
• Analysis of China–ASEAN Investment from 2013 to 2014
• Opportunities and Challenges for China–ASEAN Bilateral Investment in 2015
• Trends in China–ASEAN Investment in 2015

Dating back to the ancient times, the Maritime Silk Road is an important channel for the exchanges between the Chinese and the Western civilizations. It mainly underwent three development stages. The first stage refers to the spring of the Road in Qin and Han Dynasties. In the Book of Han, it is noted that maritime transport and trade connected China and Southeast Asia in the Western Han period, but the Maritime Road was a supplement to the land route. The second stage is in Tang and Song Dynasties, when the land route started to decline because of war and the maritime route was further expanded. The third is in Ming and Qing Dynasties, when the maritime route was interconnected with the global networks, serving as a key channel for global trade and making China a center of global trade…

The financial cooperation between China and ASEAN plays an important role in the construction of China–ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA). The cooperation began with the establishment of bank branches on each side and the conclusion of currency swap agreements between China and some ASEAN countries, facilitating governmental financial cooperation between the two sides. The financial institutions then furthered their business cooperation as a result of frequent trade contacts and the development of special businesses such as foreign currency note conversion service in some ASEAN countries’ currencies. Overall, the financial cooperation has witnessed good development momentum and is becoming more mature and comprehensive in the future. This report will discuss the current situation and trends of the financial cooperation between China and ASEAN.

The following sections are included:

• Background of China–ASEAN Environmental Cooperation
• Aim and Achievements of China–ASEAN Environmental Cooperation 2014
• Challenges and Suggestions for China–ASEAN Environmental Cooperation

The year 2014 was the starting point of a new decade for China–ASEAN strategic partnership and the first year for the construction of the “21^st Century Maritime Silk Road”. As a part of the initiative to promote the China–ASEAN Free Trade Zone (CAFTA), the 11^th China–ASEAN Expo (the “CAEXPO”) contributed to the new “diamond decade” by coping with new challenges, implementing new measures, and achieving new results.

The China–ASEAN strategic partnership has completed its first “golden decade”, and in the year of 2014, it began to embrace the second “diamond decade” featured a higher starting point and deeper cooperation. Thanks to the cooperation between China and ASEAN, Guangxi Province, an important bridge between China and ASEAN, has also maintained a steady relationship with ASEAN and has achieved remarkable results in Guangxi–ASEAN cooperation.

China has had indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and the adjacent waters for a long time. The South China Sea dispute originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1968, the Committee for Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian Offshore Areas, affiliated to UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, published a report that revealed the oil storage prospects in the South China Sea. Since then, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian countries changed their attitudes and denied China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea. They used various ways to erode China’s rights and interests in the South China Sea. For example, they occupied part of the reefs of the Nansha Islands by military means, began large-scale resource exploitation in the waters adjacent to the Nansha Islands, and laid claim to sovereignty over them…

As an important step for ASEAN to promote regional economic integration, the ASEAN Economic Community Plan has caught the attention of all parties since its debut in 2003. In 2007, ASEAN signed the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, clearly demonstrating the target to be achieved by the community. However, the goal to realize the Community within eight years raised many doubts about its possibility from observers. The author once evaluated the construction of the ASEAN Economic Community and held the opinion that even though some targets in the blueprint could not be fully realized, ASEAN would declare the completion of economic community on time…

The benefits and strategic significance of the cross-border high-speed railway project launched by China and Laos could not be clearer. The Credit Rating Agency Moody’s commented that this would be a win–win project as the railway would be an important channel to the ocean for both China and Laos. The foreign media passed different judgments on this project, the key concern being the debt burden and social issues inflicted by the construction of the railway. Will the giant capital-consuming railway project render strong development opportunities to Laos or push the country in a precarious situation? If we fail to seize the opportunity, it is highly likely that a crisis would occur.

The following sections are included:

• Analysis of the Current Situation
• Theoretical Analysis
• Policy Recommendations
• Bibliography

Since March 2011, when Thein Sein took office, the new administration in Myanmar has attached great significance to the domestic development of the economy by further opening up, improving the investment environment, and attracting foreign direct investments. Pursuant to the Foreign Investment Law in November 2012, the government separately introduced the Investment Rules on January 31, 2013, to issue more preferential policies for foreign investments and uplift some restrictions of investment areas. In doing so, Myanmar embarked on a new stage to attract more foreign investments. As a friendly neighbor to Myanmar, China used to be the largest foreign investor in Myanmar, and it values the economic cooperation with Myanmar. Chinese enterprises in Myanmar are committed to investments which are mutually beneficial. However, Chinese investments in Myanmar declined dramatically in recent years. According to the statistics in the foreign investment report published by Myanmar, in the 2012 fiscal year (April 2012 to March 2013), the investment in Myanmar from Chinese enterprises only amounted to $407 million, accounting for 29% of the total investment, compared to the $4.35 billion and $8.27 billion in the previous two years. China’s capital has continuously met setbacks, including the deadlock of Letpadaung Copper Mine, the forced halt of Myitsone Dam, and the suspension of the China–Myanmar Rail Project.

The following sections are included:

• Background
• Analysis of the Incident
• Lessons for China
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

At his 66^th birthday on July 15, 2013, Brunei’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah announced that the country would introduce Islamic criminal law (Shari’ah Penal Code Order, or Perintah Kanun Hukuman Jenayah Syariah in Malay) at a national level and that the law would be implemented in a phased manner six months later. The first phase of the Shari’ah Penal Code Order came into force on May 1. Since its inception, it aroused attention at home and abroad. Though it has not encountered any significant problems, the controversy has never ended. This chapter tries to introduce the implementation of the law and provides some comments.

The appendix is statistical material with 20 tables. These data are about the development of ten member countries of ASEAN and their investment and trade relations with China. These data are collected from authorized domestic and foreign statistical materials, and the sources are reliable. Specifically, the data in Table A12 “Import and Export Trade Volume from Provinces and Cities of Mainland China to ASEAN in 2010–2014” were obtained from the national Customs Information Centers in China. This is the first time these data have been released.

The following sections are included:

• Postscript
• Index