The Belt and Road Initiative

ASEAN Countries' Perspectives

Yue Yang, Fujian Li

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9789811205781
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Trade & Tariffs
• Index: Politics & International Relations

ASEAN countries play a crucial role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that was initiated in 2013. A number of priority BRI projects have since been implemented. The implementation of BRI brings new opportunities and challenges to countries in the region, and also to regional integration.

In this book, researchers from universities and think-tanks in ASEAN countries study the BRI from the perspective of regional studies. It presents an analysis of responses on BRI of the government and people from individual ASEAN members.

The book addresses three areas: First, the strengths and weaknesses of ASEAN countries, and the opportunities and challenges for them in implementing the BRI (a SWOT analysis); second, the impacts of BRI on building the ASEAN community; and third, interactions between BRI and ASEAN-China cooperation.

Contents:

• ASEAN–China Cooperation Under the Framework of the Belt and Road Initiative: A Comparative Study on the Perspectives of China and ASEAN (Yang Yue and Li Fujian)
• Cambodia and the Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunities and Challenges (Pich Charadine)
• The Belt and Road Initiative and China–ASEAN Relations: An Indonesian Perspective (Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro)
• Perspective on the Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunities and Challenges (Khamkieng Chanthavong)
• The Five Areas of Connectivity Between Malaysia and China: Challenges and Opportunities (Ngeow Chow Bing)
• Synergizing BRI and Myanmar's Development Agenda (Kyee Myint)
• Philippine Perspectives on the Belt and Road Initiative (Lucio Blanco Pitlo III and Aaron Jed Rabena)
• Singapore–China Relations: Seeking Continued Relevance Through Greater Connectivity (Lye Liang Fook)
• Thai Perspectives on the Belt and Road Initiative (Suwannarat Meesomboonpoonsuk)
• The Belt and Road Initiative: Vietnam's Perspectives (Nguyen Huy Hoang)
• Smart Cities in East Asia: ASEAN–China Cooperation in the BRI and Its Digital Nexus (Lim Tai Wei)

Readership: Academics, policymakers, professionals, undergraduate and graduate students interested in the Belt and Road Initiative, ASEAN countries' responses on BRI and China–ASEAN relations.The Belt and Road Initiative;ASEAN;China;Connectivity00

Chapter
1

ASEAN–China Cooperation Under the Framework of the Belt and Road Initiative: A Comparative Study on the Perspectives of China and ASEAN

Yang Yue and Li Fujian

Institute of Asian Studies, China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, China

In 2013, President Xi Jinping suggested building the Silk Road Economic Belt in his visit to Kazakhstan in September and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road during a trip to Indonesia in October. These two proposals are currently known as the Belt and Road Initiative (hereafter abbreviated as BRI). The initiative upholds the principles of peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness and mutual learning, and pursues win–win results. It puts justice before interests, pursues shared benefits through joint efforts and coordination, and is committed to green and innovative development. It aims to realize the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals with the countries concerned and build a community of shared future for mankind. Over the past 5 years, the initiative has turned from ideas to actions and from wishes to reality. Today the initiative is being fully implemented, becoming a public good for global economic, security and cultural governance. The number of nations and international organizations supporting or participating in the initiative has increased from 64 in 2013 to 115 in 2018.¹ The initiative has witnessed a series of milestones from design to implementation. For example, the initiative was listed on Decisions of the CPC Central Committee on Major Issues Regarding Fully Deepening Reform (November 2013); the Central Leading Group on the Construction of the Belt and Road was set up (early 2015); Visions and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (March 2015, hereafter abbreviated as Visions and Actions) and Guidance on Promoting International Cooperation on Industrial Capacity and Equipment Manufacturing (May 2015) were published; the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was established (December 2015); the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held (May 2017) and the initiative was incorporated into the CPC Charter (October 2017). As explicated in Visions and Actions, the BRI aims to improve the land and maritime connectivity of Europe, Asia and Africa. This connectivity includes policy coordination, infrastructure connection, smooth trade and capital flow as well as friendship among people. To realize this objective, it pushes forward practical cooperation to build a community of shared interests, responsibility and future with interconnected economy, political mutual trust and cultural inclusiveness.²

The BRI is important both to China and other countries concerned. For China, the initiative meets the need to further open up as China faces overcapacity and surplus capital and has competitive advantages in infrastructure technology. Through this initiative, China could expand its opening up model from the east and south to the western and central regions, transform its opening up model from “bring in” to “go global” and change the passive opening up approach of adjusting to existing multilateral trade rules to an active one. Over the past three decades of reform and opening up, China has taken attracting foreign capital as a major goal. However, today China has shifted the focus of its economic strategy to encouraging the Chinese to invest their capital in neighboring nations.³ Jia Qingguo holds that the initiative means a new round of opening up, which aims to promote China’s economic transformation through providing capital, technology and management expertise to the rest of the world. It also satisfies China’s demand to build a new economic growth model.⁴ Zhang Yunling believes that China must foster new competitiveness to ensure growth at home and abroad. Developing nations have the biggest potential for growth; therefore, if they have better economic environments, China will benefit from it indirectly.⁵ For other countries concerned, the initiative is also significant. China proposes the initiative amid the waning intention of developed nations to provide public goods and invest in infrastructure. The BRI takes core connectivity with infrastructure as the foundation and solves the development problems of developing nations by sharing the opportunities brought by China’s development, which indicates that the initiative focuses on common development, instead of competition or replacement and emphasizes the alignment of development strategies with existing regional economic integration mechanisms, countries concerned and even nations outside.⁶ Zheng Yongnian argues that the BRI will help ASEAN countries like the Philippines and Malaysia, which are in the “middle-income trap,” rebuild manufacturing and then upgrade it into industries with higher added value, which will in turn inject new energy to China’s economic transformation and growth as well as bring benefits to Chinese companies and products.⁷ The BRI is a new type of regional economic cooperation mechanism.⁸ Interconnectivity may become a new theoretical paradigm of Asian regional economic integration. Different from the commonality sought by European integration, the BRI seeks interconnectivity, aiming to build a region shared and connected by diverse members through coordination.⁹ The BRI with infrastructure at the core meets the need of Asian nations. It offers developing countries the ability to pursue long-term development, instead of merely economic assistance. Moreover, the initiative will also help the least developed nations foster new competitive advantages.¹⁰

In 2013, China raised the initiative. Almost at the same time. China unveiled its neighborhood policy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness. This proves that the BRI is a key carrier of its diplomatic policy with neighboring nations in the new era. Given its role as China’s natural partner, ASEAN’s cooperation with China under the framework of the BRI is of great demonstrative significance and is key to the overall success of the BRI. The BRI signifies a new type of international relationship, emphasizing shared development and prosperity through building core competitiveness of the whole region.¹¹ With shared national interests, China and ASEAN countries will maintain a stable political and secure environment that is necessary for the success of the initiative. Therefore, the BRI could satisfy the demand of China and ASEAN countries to ensure economic and political security. At present, the BRI has entered its second 5 years. Over the past 5 years, academia of both China and ASEAN countries have made myriad qualitative and quantitative researches. At this important moment, the Institute of Asian Studies of China Foreign Affairs University invites 10 scholars from ASEAN countries to contribute constructive advice for the future ASEAN–China cooperation under the framework of the BRI based on reviewing the current development. This joint research project aims to promote the win–win cooperation between China and ASEAN under the framework of the BRI and foster a much closer ASEAN–China community of shared future. In this chapter, China’s researches on this topic over the past 5 years are also reviewed and analyzed with the findings of contributing chapters by ASEAN scholars. Hopefully, from bilateral, multilateral and comparative perspectives, the intentions and demands of two sides can be identified more clearly, existing problems and challenges can be recognized in a timely manner, thereby further promoting ASEAN–China cooperation under the framework of the BRI, and more concrete and tangible benefits to two peoples can be delivered.

The Status Quo of ASEAN–China Cooperation Under the Framework of the BRI

China attaches high importance to its neighboring region. In October 2013, China held the Conference on the Diplomatic Work with Neighboring Countries, which has been at the highest level ever since 1949. At this conference, Xi Jinping placed emphasis on the strategic significance of neighboring countries to China in terms of geography, environment and relations. China needs to develop the relations with neighboring countries in an all-round manner, consolidate friendly relations with neighboring countries, and deepen the mutually beneficial cooperation with neighboring countries. China needs to develop closer ties with neighboring countries, with more friendly political relations, stronger economic bonds, deeper security cooperation and closer people-to-people contacts, and enable neighboring countries to benefit more from China’s development for the purpose of common development.¹² In November 2013, in the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Some Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening the Reform approved at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the principle of taking neighboring countries as the foundation and speeding up the building of free-trade zones was established; to set up financial institutions committed to development, accelerate improving China’s infrastructure connectivity with neighboring countries and regions, push forward the Silk Road Economic Corridor and the Maritime Silk Road, and realize all-dimensional opening up were also put forward.¹³

As the priority of China’s neighborhood diplomacy, ASEAN is where China proposed the BRI, and so it is one key region of implementation of the BRI and, particularly, the most important region of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. For ASEAN, BRI with infrastructure connectivity as its core is not a completely new idea. Before the BRI, China proposed to build the Great Corridor and the Pan–Beibu–Gulf Economic Zone. As early as 2010, ASEAN also mapped out plans promoting its connectivity, with attracting foreign investment in infrastructure as a priority. ASEAN is an important partner of the BRI, and the first loans from the AIIB were given to Indonesia.

The year 2018 marks the fifth year of the BRI. Over the past 5 years, ASEAN and China have deepened their cooperation and achieved initial success through focusing on key regions and promoting the implementation of projects. The Several Opinions of the State Council on Accelerating the Implementation of the Strategies for Free Trade Areas issued in December 2015 clearly pointed out that China should gradually build a high-standard global network of free-trade areas with neighboring areas as its priority and covering the “Belt and Road”; China should also actively establish free-trade areas with countries along the “Belt and Road,” form a big market along “the Belt and Road,” and turn “the Belt and Road” into a smooth, open road for commerce and trading. Most BRI free-trade agreements are signed by China and its neighbors, and generally these agreements have low integration level and involve a few second-generation trade policies, mainly focusing on traditional trade in goods with low level of opening-up of service industry and investment.¹⁴ Since the implementation of the BRI, China has accelerated improving the rules of these agreements. In particular, the upgraded China–ASEAN Free-Trade Agreement came into effect in October 2018, which will promote investment liberalization and facilitation within the region, push ahead the economic integration of East Asia and boost global confidence on multilateral trade and economic cooperation. In November 2017, the Joint Statement on Further Deepening China–ASEAN Cooperation on Infrastructure Connectivity was issued at the 21st China–ASEAN Summit, which officially promised to approve the alignment between the BRI and MPAC2015.

With the implementation of the BRI in ASEAN, China’s relevant research institutes established a comprehensive and scientific system to evaluate progress and effect as well as identify problems and challenges. The Bilateral Cooperation Index of the Belt and Road Initiative conducted by the BRI Big Data Center of China’s State Information Center is the most exemplary one. This index has evaluated China’s BRI cooperation with other nations for three consecutive years since 2016, and the latest The Belt and Road Big Data Annual Report was released in April 2018. Moreover, the Center for International Communication Studies of China International Publishing Group has also issued the Chinese Enterprise Global Image Survey Report 2017 (ASEAN Version) that conducted survey in six ASEAN nations in late 2017. From these two reports, the status quo of the ASEAN–China BRI cooperation can be, to some extent, understood comprehensively and objectively.

The Bilateral Cooperation Index of the Belt and Road Initiative evaluates 71 countries in six regions: Asia and Oceania, Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, East Europe, and Africa and Latin America.¹⁵ All 10 ASEAN nations are included in the Asia and Oceania region, which has 14 nations. The index establishes an evaluation system consisting of five first-level indicators, 12 second-level indicators and 34 third-level indicators in terms of policy coordination, facility connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bond, which are five priorities of the Visions and Actions (Table 1).

As revealed by the 2018 Bilateral Cooperation Index of BRI, six ASEAN nations rank among the top 10, with Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia ranking from 5th to 10th, respectively. Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Brunei rank 12th, 16th, 21st and 37th, respectively, among 71 nations, which indicates that ASEAN countries generally have higher level of BRI cooperation with China. With regard to detailed indicators, ASEAN countries have remarkable performance in political mutual trust and signing bilateral documents. Seven ASEAN countries are among the top 20 in terms of policy coordination with the full score of 20. Cambodia is at second place, with a score of 17.3; both Laos and Vietnam rank fourth, scoring 16.3; both the Philippines and Myanmar are at the seventh slot with 15.3 marks; Singapore is in 11th place scoring 14.9; and Malaysia ranks 12th with 14.6 points. China has a high level of policy coordination, close high-level exchanges and the most frequent national exchanges with most ASEAN countries. At present, China has signed bilateral BRI documents with all ASEAN countries, expanding the scope of BRI cooperation. Considering facility connectivity, seven ASEAN countries are at the top 20; the third, fourth and ninth ranks are occupied by Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos with scores of 15.64, 14.99 and 10.66, respectively; and the 11th, 14th, 17th and 20th ranks are occupied by Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia with 9.72, 8.69, 8.33 and 7.63 points, respectively. China also has close port connectivity and is improving its airway connection with ASEAN countries. By the end of 2017, China had 162 direct flights to ASEAN countries, while Thailand and Vietnam were ranked as the top two with 44 and 38 new flights, respectively. When it comes to transportation facilities, three ASEAN countries are in the top 10: Vietnam ranking first, Myanmar seventh and Laos ninth. Vietnam has the fifth largest export volume by railway, exceeding one billion US dollars. Regarding unimpeded trade, seven ASEAN countries are in the top 20: Singapore ranking third, Malaysia fourth, Indonesia fifth, Thailand seventh, Vietnam 14th, Cambodia 15th and the Philippines 16th. According to 2017 statistics, six ASEAN countries are among the top 15 with regard to bilateral trade volume with China: Vietnam in the second place, Malaysia in third, Thailand in sixth, Singapore in seventh, Indonesia in eighth and the Philippines in ninth. From the investment cooperation perspective, seven ASEAN countries are in the top 20: Malaysia as the second, Singapore the third, Thailand the sixth, Indonesia the eighth, Cambodia the ninth, Myanmar the 14th and Laos the 15th. Eight ASEAN countries are among the top 20 in terms of financial integration: Malaysia as the first, Tha...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Series Editors
• Title
• Copyright
• About the Editors
• Contents
• Chapter 1 ASEAN–China Cooperation Under the Framework of the Belt and Road Initiative: A Comparative Study on the Perspectives of China and ASEAN
• Chapter 2 Cambodia and the Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunities and Challenges
• Chapter 3 The Belt and Road Initiative and China–ASEAN Relations: An Indonesian Perspective
• Chapter 4 Perspective on the Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunities and Challenges
• Chapter 5 The Five Areas of Connectivity Between Malaysia and China: Challenges and Opportunities
• Chapter 6 Synergizing BRI and Myanmar’s Development Agenda
• Chapter 7 Philippine Perspectives on the Belt and Road Initiative
• Chapter 8 Singapore–China Relations: Seeking Continued Relevance Through Greater Connectivity
• Chapter 9 Thai Perspectives on the Belt and Road Initiative
• Chapter 10 The Belt and Road Initiative: Vietnam’s Perspectives
• Chapter 11 Smart Cities in East Asia: ASEAN–China Cooperation in the BRI and Its Digital Nexus