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Asian Angle | How provincial ties can deepen Asean-China relations
Such a bottom-up strategy provides alternative channels to sustain ties amid the storms in top-level bilateral relations
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From rail links to trade deals, growing economic interdependence and connectivity is deepening ties between China and Southeast Asia.
China has been Asean’s largest trade partner since 2009, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has risen to become China’s largest trade partner since 2020. Ties were elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2021 and last year was designated as the Asean-China Year of People-to-People Exchange. This year, both sides aim to finalise the third upgrade of their free-trade agreement to enhance cooperation in the green and digital economies and supply chains.
In a boost for greater economic integration, plans for the pan-Asian railway linking Kunming with Singapore are also gaining traction.
In all these, the role of central governments cannot be overstated. However, subnational entities also play a crucial, albeit underappreciated, part.
Proximity, bustling markets, security concerns, intractable disputes and the development of its frontier provinces increase the salience of Southeast Asia in China’s neighbourhood diplomacy. Troubled ties with the West will further raise the region’s value in Beijing’s calculus. Southern Chinese provinces leverage their location to ride on Beijing’s grand strategies such as the Belt and Road Initiative, competing with one another to serve as a gateway to Asean. These provinces are at the forefront of deepening border trade and logistics.
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