China to use economic ties with ASEAN to boost interests
China to use economic ties with ASEAN to boost interests
Peter Enav, Associated Press, Beijing
China will use an upcoming economic gathering with Southeast Asian countries to promote its political interests there, a senior Chinese official said on Thursday, underscoring Beijing's desire to counter American influence in the region.
An upcoming China-ASEAN trade event in the southern Chinese city of Nanning is more than just a commercial forum, said Fu Ziying, a vice minister of commerce.
"The China-ASEAN Expo is not only a platform for trade and economic cooperation, but also an important venue where the 11 countries have exchanges in areas of politics," he said. "(It is) a stage for diplomacy."
China signed a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations two years ago, prompting annual trade gains of close to 40 percent. In 2004 trade between China and the bloc totaled US$106 billion. During a regional tour in April, President Hu Jintao predicted that volume would double by 2010.
"Bilateral relations (with ASEAN) have entered into a new phase of rapid and comprehensive development," Fu told reporters. "There has been deepened political trust, strengthened trade ties, deepened security dialogue, and expanded areas of cooperation."
China has also been cultivating diplomatic and military ties with ASEAN, whose members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Apart from its desire to balance U.S. influence, Beijing wants to protect vital sea lanes and increase supplies of raw materials from Southeast Asia to feed the booming Chinese economy. Linking up with ASEAN also helps Beijing further isolate Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own.
On Thursday, Xu Caihou, a vice chairman of the Communist Party's powerful Central Military Commission, met with visiting Adm. Sampop Amrapala, commander in chief of the Thai navy, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
"China and Thailand are one family," Xinhua quoted Xu as saying.
Xu noted that Thailand had supported China's stance on issues dear to Beijing, such as its rule over Tibet, its claim to the independently ruled island of Taiwan and human rights.
Both sides expressed a desire for even closer ties, the report said.