Challenges and Opportunities of China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for China

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) is a bilateral cooperation between two countries as

a foundation to build mutual agreement on partnership. According to former Premier of China Wen
Jiabao, comprehensive means wide ranged cooperation, strategic means association between countries
that will not be hampered even if these countries has differing ideologies and systems, and partnership
means cooperation that is build on equal position with that provides mutual advantages between
countries involved. To commemorate the 30 th Anniversary of ASEAN-China relations, Both China and
ASEAN countries agreed to further their cooperation and build CSP as a new foundation to create
future partnership and agreement based on mutual interest. Without a doubt, CSP will provide
significant opportunities and challenges from Beijing’s perspective. The subsequent part will explain
both opportunities and challenges for China that might take place during the application of CSP by both
powers.

Opportunities

China is an emerging power with a vast economic power that holds significant influence on
ASEAN countries. After Deng Xiaoping took power in late 1978, China undertakes significant reform
that developed its economic and social power. As a result, China was accepted by international world
and seeks to build cooperation and agreement with other countries that bilaterally benefitted both
countries. On the other hand, ASEAN is a regional union to promote economic, and security for their
members. From this perspective, we can see that both China and ASEAN seek mutual cooperation to
achieve mutual interest. By utilizing superior economy and partnership approach, China should build
mutually beneficial cooperation as a confidence building method for ASEAN countries. As a country
that is respected by ASEAN states, China should continue to use its soft power approach on CSP to
further economic and infrastructure cooperation with ASEAN countries. If China succeeds on building
mutual agreement with ASEAN countries and help them build infrastructure for those countries, then
China will gain further respect by ASEAN countries as well as global stage which will elevate its
confidence against United States and other western powers.

South China Sea (SCS) dispute is a territorial dispute that occurs because of disagreement
between China nine dash line policies and UNCLOS Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) by ASEAN
states. The emergence of CSP should be used as a framework for China to reach mutual solution on the
territorial dispute between China and ASEAN countries. If China can convince ASEAN states to
resolve SCS dispute, it will renew the trust between ASEAN countries toward China which will make
it easier for both powers to form mutual cooperation. It will also decrease western influence on Asian
stage as it will decrease United States further intervention in SCS region.

The rise of Covid-19 on global stage had damaged China’s image in various part of the world.
However, China quickly recovered from Covid-19 disease by guiding its citizens by providing policies
to help combat the spread of Covid-19. As a result, China successfully managed to reduce the amount
of Covid-19 in the country by March 2020. By the time CSP was created in late 2021, some ASEAN
countries are still fighting Covid-19 disease. Using the emergence of CSP, China should use it as
pathway to propose multiple health cooperation with ASEAN countries. China should offer multiple
vaccine aid to ASEAN countries to help them combat Covid-19. This will inevitably improve China’s
image in the eyes of ASEAN leaders and will help earn their trust in return which will pave new ways
to propose multiple future cooperation with ASEAN countries.

Challenges

One of the challenges that Beijing should take into consideration is to earn mutual trust between
China and ASEAN states. The South China Sea conflict had damaged the reliance and trust between
these two powers and it will potentially continue until the conflict is solved. Furthermore, the
continuing intervention of Chinese ship in ASEAN EEZ may harm future cooperation and agreement
of CSP. Beijing should also consider that it is hard for ASEAN countries to refuse Beijing demands
because most of ASEAN countries rely on China’s development and investment cooperation to
improve the quality of their countries. Because of China’s position as great power, China should be the
one to lead ASEAN states into mutual dialogues to solve the South China Sea dispute. It would be best
for both sides to reach mutual agreement on how to solve the SCS dispute because it will ease future
cooperation especially with the emergence of CSP that should be used as a foundation to build
cooperation and agreement with each other.

From the perspective of China, CSP is an active neighborhood diplomacy to unite common
interests and to include China features and interest on neighboring countries. In other words, it is a
foundation to lead Beijing’s partners toward a more Chinese oriented perspective method. On the other
hand, the majority of ASEAN foreign policy elites realize that China is the most influential power in
the region because of over 50 cooperation mechanisms that had been approved by both powers. This
makes ASEAN states to limit the amount of China’s influence in Southeast Asian region because
despite being ASEAN’s greatest contributor to their growth, China is still seen as a great power that
tries to exert its influence towards ASEAN countries. If the Beijing administration wants to exert its
influence on Southeast Asian platform, then it needs to acknowledge that ASEAN states do not want
further influence from Chinese side. If China wants to use its soft power on ASEAN states, then it
needs to utilize the emerging CSP as a way to open dialogue talks with ASEAN leaders. The Beijing
administration needs to convince ASEAN leaders that both of them need each other to promote mutual
interests that benefit both powers. If China succeeds on convincing ASEAN leaders, then both powers
can build cooperation that is based on trust and remove ASEAN interpretation that China is a
hegemonic power that tries to exert its dominance on Southeast Asian stage.
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