ASEAN cooperation with China entails benefits and hard work

ASEAN cooperation with China entails benefits and hard work

Shang Qianhong, Associate Research Fellow Institute of Contemporary
International Relations, China Daily, Asia News Network, Beijing

Last year was the best yet for economic cooperation between
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other
regions.

One noteworthy event was the signing of an agreement between
China and the ASEAN countries on Nov. 4 on conducting all-round
economic cooperation, signaling that the process had started to
set up a China-ASEAN free-trade area.

The following day, ASEAN and Japan signed a joint declaration
on all-round economic co-operation, which aimed to liberalize
trade and investment in all fields but agriculture within 10
years.

The two agreements formed part of a whole series of events.

Earlier, India expressed its willingness to sign a free-trade
agreement with the ASEAN countries. Last September, Australia and
New Zealand signed declarations with the economic alliance, aimed
at bringing their economic ties closer.

In October, the United States proposed an economic program to
encourage ASEAN members to carry out economic reform so that they
could sign a free-trade agreement with Washington.

The European Union (EU) is planning a program to strengthen
economic links with the region. Russia is also keen on promoting
economic relationship with the ASEAN countries by participating
in East Asian economic co-operation.

Against the backdrop of the area's slow economic rebound and
bleak economic prospects caused by the terrorist bombings on the
Indonesian island of Bali, it was a real achievement that ASEAN
could make itself an attractive partner for economic co-operation
with the world's major countries and regional groupings.

The underlying reason for this should be mainly attributed to
ASEAN's outstanding economic progress as well as its appropriate
diplomatic tactics over the past few years.

Since it was established in 1967, ASEAN has scored substantial
achievements in economics, diplomacy and the process of
integration.

Before the Asian financial crisis broke out in 1997, ASEAN had
experienced a 30-year-long economic boom.

From 1970 to 1995, ASEAN members' gross domestic product
maintained an average annual growth rate of as high as 7 percent
for 25 consecutive years. The grouping's foreign-trade volume
also increased from US$14 billion in 1970 to $650 billion in
1995, making it the world's fourth-largest foreign trader only
behind the EU, the U.S. and Japan.

Its process of integration has also made remarkable progress.
By 1997, only 32 years after it was set up, ASEAN included all 10
Southeast Asian countries, despite their huge differences in
political systems, ideologies, cultural traditions and levels of
economic development.

In the diplomatic field, the organization -- composed of
medium-sized and small Southeast Asian countries -- has
successively organized and initiated a series of conferences,
such as the Post-Ministerial Conference, the ASEAN Regional
Forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting, as well as the meetings between
the ASEAN countries and China, Japan, and South Korea.

It also initiated and participated in the Asia-Pacific
Economic Co-operation forum.

With the participation of the world's major powers, such a
series of co-operative mechanisms have helped maintain ASEAN's
key role in Southeast Asia and multi-regional economic co-
operation.

For example, the Post-Ministerial Conference -- the earliest
mechanism initiated and organized by the ASEAN countries --
served as the most important channel of co-operation between the
region and outside areas before the mid-1990s.

By initiating various co-operative mechanisms with other
countries and regions, ASEAN has successfully won itself an
important position in several dialogue mechanisms, thus creating
a favorable multilateral co-operation network for its
development.

China has contributed a lot to ASEAN's enormous achievements
in its program of economic cooperation with areas outside.

Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, China has twice served
as a propelling force in helping ASEAN regain the international
community's confidence and in promoting the development of East
Asian co-operation.

The first time was China's commitment not to devalue its
currency during the economic crisis, which effectively prevented
the crisis from further spreading and deteriorating.

Undoubtedly, China's stable momentary policy provided timely
assistance to the crisis-plagued Southeast Asian countries, such
as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The reason why East Asian countries were able to turn
disadvantages into advantages at a critical time was mainly
attributed to China's responsible attitude in maintaining
stability in the region. So too was the setting-up of regular
meetings between ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea.

The second time was China's proposed establishment of a China-
ASEAN free-trade area, which was first put forward by Chinese
Premier Zhu Rongji in 2000 and committed to paper late last year.

Against the backdrop of the Western economic slump and the
weak recovery of the ASEAN countries during the post-crisis
period, China's significant program for the establishment of such
a free-trade area within 10 years certainly received an active
and swift response from the ASEAN countries.

It has now become a prevalent view among the ASEAN countries
that the expected establishment of a China-ASEAN free-trade zone
will be of strategic significance to the ASEAN countries, given
that China's initiative will help the international community and
outside investors once again have confidence in the region.

Subsequent events have proved that viewpoint correct.

Shortly after consensus was reached last year on a China-ASEAN
free-trade area, other countries -- such as the EU countries,
India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States -- also
expressed their wish to strengthen economic ties with the ASEAN
countries.

The ever-improving economic co-operation framework with
outside areas obviously serves the strategic interests of the
ASEAN countries.

Importantly, China's commitment to unilaterally open its
agricultural market to ASEAN countries will surely help narrow
the economic gaps among the association's different members, thus
contributing to the organization's internal integration.

With China's political sincerity, it is not difficult for
ASEAN to achieve an appreciable increase in exports to China in
the future.

Nevertheless, the ASEAN countries must still work hard to
achieve an essential progress in their economic co-operation with
the EU, Japan and the United States.

ASEAN also faces some unfavorable factors for its economic
development: A gloomy global economic picture and the instability
brought about by terrorist threats.