by H.E. Ong Keng Yong
Secretary General of ASEAN
at a Commemorative Symposium
To mark the 15th Anniversary of China’s Dialogue with ASEAN
Organised by East Asian Institute
Singapore, 8 December 2006

I am honoured to join you this  morning and share my thoughts with you. This is the Commemorative Symposium to mark the 15th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations.

The theme of the symposium “Harmony and Development” is fascinating.  This is because these two concepts are both contradictory and complementary at the same time.

Please also allow me to express my sincere congratulations to the organiser of this event, the East Asian Institute in Singapore, for the warm welcome and excellent arrangements made for this Symposium. 

Having participated in the Commemorative Summit to mark the 15th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations on 30 October 2006 in Nanning, I observe the increasingly close relationship between the Leaders of ASEAN Member Countries and China. Regular high-level dialogue and consultations among the Leaders will help in building mutual trust, confidence and comfort, thus allowing a free-flow and frank discussion and exchange of views on issues of common interest. Such atmosphere will certainly serve well for the continuous nurturing of ASEAN-China relations. 
 

Building a Strong Foundation

The historical links between Southeast Asia and China date back to centuries during which individual countries of this region and China carried out trade, cultural interactions and sea voyages.

Collectively, as ASEAN, the relationship between countries in Southeast Asia and China started to open up in the year 1991.  At the early stage, the relations progressed gradually as both sides work towards achieving a significant level of comfort and confidence. ASEAN and China have always managed to find innovative ways and means to deal with challenges and move the relationship forward.

Now, 15 years later one could observe that ASEAN-China relationship has matured. Cooperation has developed in breadth and depth, covering various areas of collaboration, in political and security, economics and trade, socio-culture and people-to-people interaction. 

The relationship reached a higher level with the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in October 2003 and the adoption of a five-year ASEAN-China Plan of Action to implement the Joint Declaration in November 2004 by the Leaders of ASEAN and China. These important documents provide the guide and roadmap for advancing cooperation between the two sides.

Supporting and Complementary Role

ASEAN and China are playing the supporting and complementary role in each other’s socio-economic development and in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Many would argue that China is a strong competitor of ASEAN with far reaching impact on the latter’s strategic outlook and economic prosperity. On the contrary, ASEAN views the fast growth of China and its development as a positive phenomenon spurring ASEAN to integrate economically in a faster pace.  ASEAN believes that both sides could tap on the complementarities for mutual gains.

ASEAN views China as a close neighbour and an important Dialogue Partner with tremendous potential to offer. With its rapid economic growth and a population of about 1.3 billion people, China is a huge consumer of ASEAN products and also a source of future FDI to the region. In addition, ASEAN is benefiting from the large number Chinese tourists visiting the region and vice- versa. The arrival of tourists from China averaged 3 million in 2004 and 2005.

China is also supporting ASEAN’s integration through the promotion of trade and investment in the region. In addition, it supports various regional integration schemes. China contributed USD1 million to the ASEAN Development Fund and pledge another USD1 million for the implementation of Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) projects. Furthermore, China is involved in the ASEAN Mekong Basin Development Cooperation (AMBDC), the Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and other sub-regional economic initiatives.

ASEAN is now vigorously embarking on its integration and Community building efforts to push ahead to make this region a single market and production base with free-flow of goods, services, investment and skilled labour, and freer flow of capital. All these will further contribute to the enhancement of ASEAN’s economic base, which in turn will also benefit China.

Enhancing Economic Partnership

Economic cooperation has grown rapidly, especially after the signing of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (CEC), which provides for the establishment of an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, scheduled for 2010 for Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and China; and for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam to join by 2015.

According to ASEAN’s statistics, total trade between ASEAN and China grew by 27% from USD89 billion in 2004 to USD113 billion in 2005. The contribution of total ASEAN-China trade to the total ASEAN trade with the world also increased from 8.3% in 2004 to 9.3% in 2005. However, China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) to ASEAN declined by 15% from USD670 million in 2004 to USD570 million in 2005. Cumulative (1999-2005) China’s FDI to ASEAN amounted USD1.4 billion.  Certainly, more Chinese companies can invest substantively in the industrial and job creating sectors of ASEAN’s economies.

The Agreements on Trade in Goods (TIG) and Dispute Settlement Mechanism under the Framework Agreement on CEC were signed in November 2004. The Agreement on TIG had come into force on 20 July 2005. Business transactions and the flow of FDI are expected to increase as a result of the entering into force of the Agreement on TIG and the reduction and elimination of tariffs. The Agreement on Trade in Services between ASEAN and China is expected to be signed soon. Negotiations on the agreement on investment are ongoing.

One area for both sides to work on is infrastructure development to accelerate ASEAN’s economic growth.  China’s investment here will also narrow the development gaps among ASEAN Member Countries.  A good systematic approach will be beneficial to China’s inner provinces such as Yunnan, Sichuan, etc.

Promoting People-To-People Exchange

On socio-cultural cooperation, there have been several activities organised in ASEAN and China to enhance people-to-people exchanges and promote public awareness among the peoples of ASEAN and China. While, the business sector has established several events such as the annual ASEAN-China Expo and ASEAN-China Business and Investment Summit to help match-making, networking and expanding business linkages, more is needed to be done to ensure other sections of the population  - government officials, youth, civil society and intellectuals - could interact to comprehensively strengthen ASEAN-China dialogue partnership. 

 Basically, information on ASEAN and China must be more effectively disseminated to all segments of the society. More websites, greater news coverage and documentaries should be made available to reach out to a large spectrum of audiences, both in ASEAN and China. China’s announcement at the ASEAN-China Commemorative Summit in October 2006 in Nanning that it would invite 1,000 youth from ASEAN Member Countries to visit China and offered to train 8,000 ASEAN professionals in different fields in the coming five years are good gesture in fostering people-to-people interaction, especially among the young people.
 

 Moving into the future

The ASEAN-China dialogue partnership has developed steadily over the past 15 years. The broad-based cooperation is guided by well-thought out plans and a long-term vision.  To a large extent, strong political will on both sides ensure that the relations are properly nurtured and strengthened in a calibrated manner.

However, ASEAN and China should not take their past accomplishments for granted since the region and the world are constantly changing. As such the relationship would face various new opportunities and challenges, and the way forward would be for ASEAN and China to continue to build upon their achievements. It is also vital for both sides to manage potential challenges with utmost care by taking into account the overall state of the relationship and the bigger strategic picture.

In the coming years, ASEAN and China will continue to strengthen their cooperation and implement what both sides have committed to do, especially the realisation of the FTA so that it would bring about more tangible benefits to the peoples of ASEAN and China. Moreover, both sides will have to work closely to address challenges facing the region such as transnational crime and terrorism, SARS, avian influenza and natural disasters. 

With rapid developments in the region, ASEAN has initiated new ideas such as the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the FTA strategy to manage regional affairs and challenges.  China’s support for ASEAN’s initiative is essential for their success.  A cohesive and strong ASEAN is in China’s own interest.  Narrowing the developmental gap among ASEAN Member Countries is a key strategy for a cohesive and strong ASEAN.  China can play a big role in this ASEAN endeavour. 

Looking into the immediate future, another idea worth deliberating is how ASEAN and China should pursue the envisioned East Asia community.  This visionary concept is firing the imagination of many scholars and thinkers.  The question is how to evolve the multi-faceted and multi-layered existing relationships revolving around the region into a community-based feeling without arousing undue stress and tension.  The ASEAN Plus Three framework and mechanisms have been developed over the past ten years.  They must be built upon and a greater value-add obtained from them while the vast potential of the EAS is tapped.

I trust that participants to this Symposium will add valuable views and share ideas on how to advance and move ASEAN-China strategic partnership forward.