When neighbours fare better, not only the region but the entire world benefits. This is anchoring the pivot of China’s Asian neighbourhood diplomacy in a new era.
Given the tumultuous and pressing time in which untowardness runs rampant, China stands clear on how to align with neighbouring countries by upholding the sense of mutual trust, common goals, shared community and win-win situation. China is mindful of the vision that a sour relationship with neighbours will land everyone in the chaos of polarization, disintegration, divisions, confrontations, sanctions, politicized economy, and hegemony.
In today’s international landscape, world peace is at stake because many neighbours are at odds. Wars have gone rampage. Economic recovery is challenging. Indeed, we need stability, development and prosperity. Here China neighborhood diplomacy comes into play laying down deeper dynamics of robust and resilient neighborliness. Chinese saying: “True friendship weathers the changing seasons without fading away and is made even stronger by hardships.”
Being a family of Asia, teeming with new trends and challenges, the outlook of China’s diplomatic policy lies in One Asia, One Future. In the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese President, pointed out that changes in our world, our times, and of historical significance are unfolding in ways like never before. The world has once again reached a crossroads in history. Asia, amidst the changes unseen in a century, stands at a new starting point towards development and revitalization and faces unprecedented opportunities and challenges. In recent years, Asia, as an important engine driving global economic recovery and growth, has contributed more than 50 per cent to global growth. Asia is the most dynamic region with the biggest development potential in the world and will remain a promising land for global development and prosperity.
China is mindful of the vision that a sour relationship with neighbours will land everyone in chaos.
Meanwhile, global governance is dysfunctional; the Cold War mentality is resurfacing; unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism run rampant; multiple risks in such fields as energy, food, finance, industrial and supply chains and climate change are having a greater impact on Asia. Asia also faces challenges such as uneven economic growth and pronounced security and governance issues.
There are two opposite propositions and trends concerning the future of Asia. One advocates open regionalism, true multilateralism, a development-first approach, mutually beneficial cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, integrated development, and the pursuit of common development in harmony. The other represents a relapse into the Cold War mentality and exclusive clubs, and attempts to draw lines based on values, politicize economic issues, divide the region into different security blocs, and stoke division and confrontation.
The right choice for Asia should be openness, solidarity, cooperation, justice and harmony rather than isolation, division, confrontation, hegemony and a zero-sum approach. In this process, China and fellow Asian countries have jointly advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, carried forward the Bandung Spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation, and kept advancing good-neighbourliness and mutually beneficial cooperation.
As of the date of this document’s release, China has established diverse and substantive partnerships, cooperative relations and strategic relations of mutual benefit with 28 neighbouring countries and ASEAN. China has reached common understandings with Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan on building a community with a shared future, and has agreed with the five Mekong countries to build a community with a shared future among Lancang-Mekong countries, and announced with the five Central Asian countries the decision to build a China-Central Asia community with a shared future. China has resolved historical boundary issues with 12 neighbours on land through negotiations and signed treaties of good neighbourliness and friendly cooperation with nine neighbouring countries. China has signed and ratified the Protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia, respects Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status, became the first to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and is fully prepared to sign the Protocol to the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty at any time.
Mutual benefits keep deepening. China is the largest trading partner of 18 neighbouring countries. In 2022, China’s trade in goods with neighbouring countries exceeded USD 2.17 trillion, up by 78 per cent from 2012. The two-way investment between China and ASEAN has exceeded USD 380 billion in cumulative terms. China took the lead in ratifying the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and worked for its entry into force and implementation, enabling and enhancing regional economic integration.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has delivered benefits to the neighbourhood. China upholds the principle of planning together, building together and benefiting together, stays committed to the philosophy of open, green and clean cooperation, and strives to achieve high-standard, sustainable and people-centred cooperation. China has signed Belt and Road cooperation documents with 24 neighbouring countries and worked to synergize the BRI with the cooperation plans of ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Union. China has initiated the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund to provide financial support for infrastructure projects. Thanks to the joint efforts of all parties, a general connectivity framework consisting of six corridors, six connectivity routes and multiple countries and ports has been put in place. The fruitful Belt and Road cooperation has spurred economic growth and improved people’s lives in relevant countries and has injected strong impetus into economic recovery in the region.
Regional cooperation has grown in depth and substance. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), co-founded by China and neighbouring countries, has become a comprehensive regional organization with the largest geographical coverage and population. The China-Central Asia mechanism established by China and the five Central Asian countries has emerged as an important platform for in-depth cooperation between the six countries. Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is a success story of mutually beneficial cooperation in the sub-region, and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Economic Development Belt is taking shape. In a spirit of openness and inclusiveness, China actively participates in multilateral cooperation, including the ASEAN-centered East Asia cooperation mechanism, China-Japan-ROK cooperation, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), contributing to the region’s integrated development and people’s well-being.
Hotspot issues have been effectively managed and controlled. China has contributed solutions to the political settlement of regional hotspot issues and proposed and put into action the Chinese approach to addressing hotspot issues. On the Korean Peninsula issue, for the sake of peace, stability, and lasting security on the Peninsula, China has put forward the innovative “suspension-for-suspension” proposal and the dual-track approach, stayed committed to political settlement and actively facilitated peace talks. In Afghanistan, China has established a mechanism for coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan’s neighbours, relaunched the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue, and issued the Tunxi Initiative to help Afghanistan with reconstruction and development, building synergy among various parties. In Myanmar, China has encouraged the parties to bridge differences, restore social stability in the country, and launch political dialogue as quickly as possible.
Risks and challenges have been addressed effectively. China and neighbouring countries have worked together in tackling such challenges as terrorism, separatism and financial crisis in the region. Since COVID-19 broke out, China and neighbouring countries have come together to overcome difficulties, which reflects the spirit of a community with a shared future and provided leadership for global solidarity against the pandemic.
The remarkable progress made in Asia is attributable to the joint efforts of China and neighbouring countries and needs to be cherished. China’s development would not be possible without a peaceful and stable neighbouring environment. The development of China and that of neighbouring countries complement and reinforce each other. China’s development will bring major opportunities and long-term benefits to countries across Asia and will make even greater contributions to peace and development in the region.
The writer is a senior Journalist. He is also President of Institute of International Relations and Media Research (IIRMR).”
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