China-ASEAN Mutual Trust

The friendly relations between China and ASEAN have a long and enduring history. Both sides have deepened their all-around cooperation, making each other the largest trade partner, the most resilient partner, and the most meaningful strategic partner. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides have joined hands to fight the pandemic and overcome the difficulties side by side, demonstrating with practical action the spirit of the community with a shared future featuring mutual support and solidarity. Looking back and forward, the fruitful China-ASEAN cooperation is not only a result of many shared interests in various fields between both sides but also because of their increasing political mutual trust.

The Importance of mutual trust

It is of great importance to build China-ASEAN political mutual trust, which is conducive to accelerating the building of China-ASEAN community with a shared future, as well as to creating a harmonious and stable neighborhood and shaping China’s national image of peaceful development.

Firstly, China-ASEAN community with a shared future needs mutual trust. On October 3rd, 2013, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Indonesian Parliament, putting forward China’s readiness to build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road with ASEAN countries and jointly build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. Aimed at extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, the China-ASEAN community with a shared future advocated by China is not intended to make inform some kind of institutional arrangement that transcends nation-states, but rather to establish a recognition of shared interests and responsibilities between China and ASEAN countries based on political mutual trust. In the long run, building China-ASEAN political mutual trust is conducive to accelerating the building of the China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Secondly, it contributes to creating a harmonious and stable neighborhood. Since the global financial crisis in 2008, security situation around China has been generally stable and controllable. However, frictions have arisen between China and some Southeast Asian countries over the South China Sea, and political trust among the parties has been somewhat challenged. Some major powers have also taken advantage of the situation by strengthening their direct military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, reinforcing and expanding the system of bilateral alliances in the region and actively forging new mini-multilateral security mechanisms in an attempt to exert greater strategic pressure on China. Under such circumstances, building China-ASEAN political mutual trust will not only help avoid the negative consequences of major power competition in Southeast Asia but also save ASEAN countries from the dilemma of choosing sides, to create a harmonious and stable development environment for both sides.

Thirdly, it is conducive to shaping China’s national image of peaceful development. A good national image, by its persuasive and appealing power, can gain more conscious recognition from other countries, allow the audience in the international community to consciously resist deliberate smearing by unscrupulous media, and consolidate and enhance the country’s international influence. President Xi Jinping pointed out that we should make efforts to shape our national image, focusing on China’s image as a responsible major country that adheres to peaceful development, promotes common development, safeguards international fairness and justice, and contributes to humanity. Building China-ASEAN political mutual trust is not only conducive to deepening all round exchanges and contacts between the two sides, but also helpful to shape China’s national image of peaceful development.

Historical Experience

Looking back at the 30-year history of China-ASEAN relations, each time a regional or global crisis occurred, cooperation between the two sides gained momentum and political mutual trust increased steadily. The reasons for this are mainly characterized by the following features.

First, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are the foundation. Unlike the Western countries led by the United States which have repeatedly and forcefully interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, China has always adhered to the five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence in the international community, and has been actively cooperating with ASEAN countries in various fields on this basis. For instance, following the political changes in Myanmar in February 2021, the United States took the opportunity to join forces with its allies such as Britain, France and Australia to openly intervene in Myanmar’s internal affairs, fanning the flames of conflict and creating chaos in Myanmar by its usual means. In contrast, China and ASEAN have maintained a highly consistent attitude in dealing with the Myanmar issue, always adhering to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and calling on all parties concerned to remain restrained to ensure peace and stability and normal social order in Myanmar.

Second, support for ASEAN’s core position is a prerequisite. China actively supports ASEAN’s leading role in regional affairs, supports ASEAN’s vision of regional order for inclusive development, and deepens cooperation with ASEAN based on respecting diversity, accommodating differences and progressiveness of the process. Firstly, China takes the initiative to participate in the ASEAN-led regional cooperation mechanism. Since the opening of the dialogue between both sides in 1991, China has joined quite several ASEAN-led regional cooperation mechanisms such as the ASEAN Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit, ASEAN+1, and ASEAN+3, to name some. Secondly, China takes the ASEAN norms as the major principle for regional cooperation.