Pragmatic Cooperation Boosts China—ASEAN Dialogue Relations

Six hundred years ago， Zheng He， the famous Chinese explorer who lived during the Ming Dynasty， made seven voyages to the Western Seas. His voyages pushed the ancient Maritime Silk Road to its peak， contributed to China’s friendly exchanges with foreign countries and brought Chinese commodities， culture and customs to countries along the route.

Today， under the guidance of the Belt and Road Initiative， China has opened a new chapter in its exchanges and cooperation with the countries along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. ASEAN member states and China are close partners. The two sides have strengthened their political mutual trust， pragmatic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. China-ASEAN dialogue relations have been the most active and most robust of all ASEAN dialogue relations. This set of relations has done much to promote the economic and social development of all parties involved and contributed to the stability and prosperity of the region.

“In China， you have an old saying that ‘a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor’，” said AKP Mochtan， Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs， in an interview with China Report ASEAN at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. “China is a big country closely associated with ASEAN in many ways. ASEAN is a diversified international organization consisting of member states which differ from one another in culture， language and history. The most important achievement of ASEAN-China dialogue relations is the peace and stability of the region. In terms of economic development， the scale of trade and investment between the two sides has expanded continuously in recent years. The economies of quite a few ASEAN countries have been growing at annual rates of 7 percent or higher.”

Economic and Trade Cooperation

On July 15， work on the Walini tunnel of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway officially began. This 150-kilometer high-speed railway， the first of its kind in Southeast Asia， will connect the Indonesian capital Jakarta with Bandung， the country’s fourth largest city. This is the first systematic export of China’s high-speed railway （CRH） which covers the whole industrial chain， including total factor productivity （TFP）. The railway will not only improve commuting efficiency between the two cities， but also drive China-Indonesia economic and trade cooperation forward.

“In recent years， with the rapid development of Sino-Indonesian relations， more and more Chinese enterprises have invested in new projects in Indonesia， which has vigorously promoted the economic and social development of Indonesia，” said Sun Weide， Charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia， in an exclusive interview with China Report ASEAN. Apart from the high-speed railway， also in full swing is the construction of Qingshan Industrial Park of the China-Indonesia Comprehensive Industrial Zone， jointly invested by Shanghai Decent Group and Bintang Delapan of Indonesia. Construction of the China-Indonesia Julong Agricultural Industry Cooperation Zone， invested by Tianjin Julong Group， is also proceeding smoothly. Chinese enterprises have accelerated cooperation with their Indonesian partners in terms of transportation， electricity， communications， mining， finance， equipment manufacturing， e-commerce and other areas. More than 2，000 Chinese enterprises have invested in or are currently operating in Indonesia.

China and Indonesia have a long history of economic and trade exchanges. Six hundred years ago， when Zheng He first landed on the island of Java， he brought porcelain， tea， silk and other commodities as well as advanced agricultural and industrial technologies. The local people appreciated the goods and peaceful message that Zheng He brought with him， and later named the town where he landed “Semarang”， nearly homophonic with Sam Po （nickname of Zheng He）， in honor of the explorer.

Currently， overseas Chinese play a very important part in the Indonesian business community. They have great expectations for bilateral economic and trade cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road.

“No force can hold back the rise of China and the strengthening of its comprehensive national power，” said Setiawan Harjono， Chairman of the East Group， an Indonesian development firm. “Meanwhile， Indonesia dreams of becoming a maritime power. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has provided Indonesia with a golden opportunity for development.”

Indonesian President Joko Widodo attaches great importance to friendly relations with China and gives priority to economic development， infrastructure construction and tourism cooperation. A considerable amount of manpower and material resources have been invested. “Indonesia’s investment environment has been improved a great deal， attracting many Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Indonesia，” Harjono added.

The Philippines is another important country on the Maritime Silk Road. With the improvement of bilateral relations， economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have entered a golden period of rapid development. In 2016， China surpassed Japan to become the largest trading partner of the Philippines. In the first six months of this year， China and the Philippines signed 22 cooperation agreements. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in May with his cabinet ministers of finance and economic development， marking his second visit to China after taking office in 2016.

Francis Chua， Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce Industry （PCCI）， said that Belt and Road cooperation should focus not just on major projects and cooperation between big enterprises， but also on Philippine small and medium enterprises. Meanwhile， the two countries should cooperate more on the processing of agricultural products. “We welcome more Chinese investment and technology in the fruit processing industry of the Philippines，” Chua added.

Apart from agriculture， export of labor services is also a pillar industry in the Philippines. As one of the largest exporters of labor services， the Philippines exports about 10 million workers to countries around the world every year. Filipino domestic workers are known for providing high quality domestic services. In China’s Shanghai and Shandong Province， there have been calls to open the domestic services market to Filipino workers. However， due to the laws and regulations on migrant foreign workers in China and concerns over the impact that foreign domestic services providers may have on local workers， Filipino domestic workers are not expected to enter the Chinese labor market in the short run.

Consul-General of the Chinese Consulate in Laoag Wang Jianqun suggested that Chinese vocational schools and training institutions cooperate with their Philippine counterparts to introduce an advanced domestic services training system to China to improve the Chinese domestic services market as well as the overall capacity of the industry.

Chinese Flavor in ASEAN Tourism

China-ASEAN tourism cooperation continues to flourish. Two-way personnel exchanges between the two sides increased from 3.87 million in 2003 to 31 million in 2016. China has become ASEAN’s largest source of overseas tourists. Among China’s top 15 sources of overseas tourists， six are ASEAN countries. In the summer and autumn seasons of 2016， more than 2，700 flights traveled between China and ASEAN countries every week， and the figure is expected to reach 5，000 this year.

“Tourism helps ASEAN and China understand the culture of one another，” said ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Mochtan. “Additionally， tourists can gain a better understanding of biodiversity on their journeys and become more aware of the need for environmental protection.”

The year 2017 marks the ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation. The two sides will further their tourism cooperation to achieve the goal of 30 million two-way visitors by 2020.

As the rotating chair of ASEAN this year， the Philippines has become increasingly attractive to Chinese tourists. In 2016， China surpassed Japan to become the third largest source of overseas tourists to the Philippines. A total of 680，000 Chinese tourists visited the Philippines， a year-on-year increase of 37.7 percent. It takes only two-to-four hours to fly from Shanghai or Guangzhou to Philippine holiday destinations such as Boracay， Marlay or Cebu.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said that with the development of relations between the two countries， more direct flights will soon become available. In 2017， 1 million Chinese tourists are expected to visit the Philippines.

The Philippines is home to a large number of overseas Chinese， particularly in Laoag. On the screening machines at the airport， bilingual labels note that much of the equipment used there was donated by the Consulate of the People’s Republic of China in Laoag. The Seaview Holiday Inn Laoag， the largest holiday resort in the city， is managed by a Chinese enterprise. The resort is a fusion of Spanish， Philippine and Chinese elements. Services in Chinese are available from the front desk to the dining rooms.

As one of the most popular ASEAN tourist destinations， Indonesia hosted 1.453 million Chinese tourists in 2016. Getting married in Bali， watching sunrise in Borobudur and diving in Manado are no longer the conversation topics of a privileged few in China. More and more Chinese holiday makers are choosing such places as their travel destinations. An increasing number of signs in Chinese can be spotted across Indonesia， aiding Chinese tourists.

According to Sun Weide， Charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia， the Indonesian government has taken many initiatives to attract Chinese tourists to Indonesia in recent years. Since a visa waiver for Chinese tourists was implemented in June 2015， Indonesia’s Tourism Ministry has introduced a number of other measures， including opening direct flights from major Chinese cities to Jakarta， Bali and Manado and cooperating with Baidu， Wanda and other Chinese companies in tourism promotion and infrastructure upgrading. Also being improved are various services in Chinese， including road signs， telephone hotlines and tour guides. Stronger protection for the rights and interests of Chinese tourists is also being promoted.

People-to-People Exchanges

There are about 500 Confucius Institutes around the world， offering insight and education into China’s language and culture. Since the Belt and Road Initiative was first proposed， Confucius Institutes in the countries along the route have been an important driving force of the Belt and Road.

The Confucius Institute at Ateneo de Manila University was jointly built by the Sun Yat-sen University of China and the Ateneo de Manila University of the Philippines. Some of the instructors of the institute are from Sun Yat-sen University， while others are volunteers from other Chinese universities. According to institute dean Liang Guanghan， the curriculum of the institute consists of not only Chinese language courses， but also Chinese calligraphy， painting， music and sports. Each instructor has a special skill in traditional Chinese musical instruments. During the summer holiday， the institute organizes “China summer camps” for Philippine students to better experience Chinese culture. In addition， the institute organizes at least three Belt and Road forums each year to promote cooperation within its framework. It also hosts a training program for the employees of both sides to enhance mutual understanding.

As a Chinese enterprise that has succeeded in the overseas market， Huawei has 10 industrial facilities in the Philippines， offering 2，000 jobs to the local population. Huawei has always been committed to responsible corporate citizenship， focusing on ICT personnel training as well as eliminating the digital divide. In the Philippines， Huawei has worked with local training institutions， and since 2015， it has selected 11 Philippine students for a 2-week training program in China. The program’s first week focuses on language and culture， while the second week focuses on information and networking technology at Huawei’s headquarters.

“In the Philippines， there are 3.8 million university students， only 12 percent of whom major in science and engineering. There is a shortage of engineers in the Philippines，” said Liu Gaojie， deputy general manager of Huawei Technologies in the Philippines. Huawei attaches great importance to personnel training. The company has built a training center in Manila， which will train 2，000-3，000 engineers for Huawei and its suppliers each year.

“The ASEAN-China Center [ACC] will continue to build more platforms for two-way exchanges that can enhance mutual trust， exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries，” said Yang Xiuping， Secretary-General of ACC， organizer of the 2017 Chinese Media Trip to ASEAN. “The ACC will continue to play its role as an information and operation center to promote mutually beneficial cooperation in trade， investment， education， culture， tourism， the media and other areas， all of which can aid the sustainable development of ASEAN-China relations.”