General Background

The relationship between ASEAN and China can be traced to 19 July 1991 when the Chinese Foreign Minister H.E. Mr.Qian Qichen, who attended the opening session of the 24th AMM in Kuala Lumpur as a guest of the Malaysian Government, expressed China's interest in strengthening cooperation with ASEAN for mutual benefit by identifying and developing specific fields of cooperation, particularly in science and technology.

ASEAN responded positively to the Chinese approach and began preparing initiatives for a formal ASEAN-China relationship. In September 1993, ASEAN Secretary-General H.E. Dato' Ajit Singh led a delegation to Beijing and held exploratory talks with the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister H.E. Mr.Tang Jiaxuan. ASEAN and China then agreed to establish two Joint Committees, one on economic and trade cooperation and the other on cooperation in science and technology.

An Exchange of Letters between the ASEAN Secretary-General and the Chinese Foreign Minister on 23 July 1994 in Bangkok formalised the establishment of the two Joint Committees. At the same time, ASEAN and China agreed to engage in consultations on political and security issues of common concern at the Senior Officials level.

In July 1996, China was accorded full Dialogue Partner status at the 29th AMM in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Chinese Vice Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Mr. Qian Qichen attended the meeting as a representative of a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN for the first time.

Institutional Framework

China participates in a series of consultative meetings with ASEAN which includes the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) 9+1 and 9+10, the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting the ASEAN-China SOM Consultations and the ASEAN-China Business Council Meeting. The ASEAN- Beijing Committee also assists in conducting and maintaining the dialogue with China.

At the apex of the dialogue process is China's participation in the PMC process immediately following the ASEAN Ministerial Meetings. The PMC 9+1 and 9+10 meetings offer an opportunity for the Chinese Foreign Minister to review contemporary political, security, economic and development cooperation issues affecting the dialogue relationship with the ASEAN Foreign Ministers. China also participates in the ARF which takes stock of key regional political and security issues that have the attention of the region. In addition, ASEAN-China Consultations are held at the level of ASEAN's Senior Officials and China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs to provide a more in-depth examination of immediate economic and functional cooperation activities.

As a follow-up to the establishment of the dialogue relations, ASEAN and China have established the ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee (ACJCC) which convened its inaugural meeting in Beijing from 26-28 February 1997. During the Meeting, ASEAN and China agreed, among other things, that the ACJCC would "act as the coordinator for all the ASEAN-China mechanisms at the working level"; and to "further consolidate the economic and functional cooperation" between ASEAN and China. In addition, the ACJCC would also promote cooperation in human resources development, people-to-people contact and cultural exchanges.

For the above purposes, the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund was established and will be managed by a Joint Management Committee co-chaired by the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the Chinese Ambassador in Jakarta or their respective designated representatives.

To date, three ASEAN-China SOM Consultations have been held: in Hangzhou, China, in April 1995; in Bukittinggi, Indonesia, in June 1996; and in Huangshan, China, in April 1997. At the Huangshan meeting, ASEAN and China both expressed their pleasure at the cordial atmosphere and the greater depth of their mutual understanding on several issues of common concern.

China has also accepted an ASEAN invitation to the ASEAN+3 Summit in Malaysia in December 1997. In addition, a separate ASEAN-China Summit will be held and it is expected that an ASEAN-China joint political document will be issued after the Summit.

Economic Cooperation

ASEAN and China, because of their geographical proximity and close cultural ties, have found in each other a vast market for their respective exports in recent years. ASEAN exports to the China reached US$8.78 billion in 1996, an increase of 102.5% over the 1993 figure. China is ASEAN's seventh largest market after Japan, the US, Hong Kong, Germany, Republic of Korea and Taiwan. China's exports to ASEAN in 1996 was US$7.09 billion, an increase of 14.4% from 1995. A significant number of ASEAN investors have set up joint ventures with the Chinese in numerous economic sectors in China, ranging from real estate development and discount retail chain stores to motorcycle production and chicken farms. On the other hand, Chinese investors, relative newcomers in ASEAN, have begun to establish their presence in Singapore and Indonesia.

ASEAN's economic ties with Hong Kong are also significant. In 1996, Hong Kong's imports from ASEAN reached nearly US$21 billion, up 8.2% from 1995. Part of these imports went through Hong Kong to China. Similarly, a majority of Hong Kong's exports of US$9.7 billion to ASEAN in 1996 were re-exports from China. With the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in mid-1997, ASEAN-China economic relations assumed even greater importance. China and Hong Kong together constitute the third largest export market for ASEAN after Japan and the US.

To further develop the existing economic activities, a Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM) delegation met with senior Chinese officials from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Second Meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation in Beijing on 12 September 1997. The first meeting of the Joint Committee was held in Jakarta on 7 August 1995. The Joint Committee exchanged views on current international economic issues and discussed, among other things, ways and means of promoting ASEAN-China trade and investment cooperation.

Further efforts to promote trade and economic cooperation are also being undertaken through the private sector of ASEAN and China. The ASEAN-CCI and its Chinese counterpart from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) have established the ASEAN-China Business Council for this purpose.

Development Cooperation

The ACJCC meeting held in Beijing approved three project proposals from China, namely an exchange of visits, a workshop on Sino-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation and a Sino-ASEAN information exchange. It has requested all concerned parties to develop these projects for implementation. The exchange-of-visits-project comprises two parts: a visit by an ASEAN delegation to Beijing, which is expected to take place before the end of 1997 and a visit by a Chinese delegation to the ASEAN Secretariat in early 1998. A fourth project proposal on remote sensing in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin was referred to ASEAN COST's Expert Group on Remote Sensing for consideration.

The ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology (COST) and a Chinese delegation led by Secretary-General H.E. Mr. Zhang Dengyi of the State Science and Technology Commission met at the inaugural meeting of the Joint Science and Technology Committee on 21 March 1995 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The Chinese proposed Research and Development (R&D) collaboration projects with ASEAN in remote sensing, meteorology and earth sciences. The two sides agreed that the Joint Committee would meet every two years, alternately in China and an ASEAN location. COST's Sub-Committees concerned have been studying the Chinese project proposals, which would be implemented on a cost-sharing basis. The ASEAN-China Joint Science and Technology Committee plans to meet in China later in 1997.

Current ASEAN-China Relationship

At the Eighth ASEAN-China Summit in Phnom Penh on 4 November, ASEAN and Chinese leaders signed the “Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Co-Operation between ASEAN and China” which provides the groundwork for the eventual establishment of an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (FTA) by 2010 for the older ASEAN members and 2015 for the newer members, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam.  The Agreement, which will come into force on 1 July 2003, also features special and differential treatment and flexibility to newer ASEAN members and a provision for “Early Harvest” for certain goods and services. 

An ASEAN-China Trade Negotiating Committee (ASEAN-China TNC) was established in May 2002 for negotiating a comprehensive Framework Agreement on ASEAN-China Economic Cooperation and had met several times.  Negotiations for the trade in goods component of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area would be concluded by 30 June 2004 while the Rules of Origin for trade in goods should be completed by December 2003.  For services and investment, negotiations would commence in 2003 and would be concluded as expeditiously as possible. 
The Leaders also adopted the “Joint Declaration of ASEAN and China on Cooperation in the Field of Non-Traditional Security Issues.”  The priorities at the current stage of cooperation include combating trafficking in illegal drugs, people smuggling including trafficking in women and children, sea piracy, terrorism, arms-smuggling, money-laundering, international economic crime and cyber crime.  The first meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Transnational Crime and their counterpart from China is scheduled in June 2003.

Cooperative activities between ASEAN and China have been expanding in the five priority areas, namely agriculture, information and communications technology, human resource development, two-way investment, and Mekong River Basin development. 

 China has allocated US$5 million for the implementation of human resource development projects.  Currently, the bulk of the HRD projects are in the science and technology sector followed by ICT and agriculture.  HRD projects in other areas, such as academic, transport, social development, culture, investment, industry and tourism are being developed.

In the area of agriculture, ASEAN and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China and the ASEAN Secretariat (on behalf of ASEAN Member Countries) on Agricultural Cooperation on 2 November 2002 in Phnom Penh.  The MOU is a technical cooperation agreement to implement training programmes for ASEAN participants in China. The areas of cooperation include forestry, livestock production, fisheries, biotechnology, post-harvest technology and the field harmonization of quarantine measures and standard conformity of agriculture products.  Activities under the MOU have been progressing well.  ASEAN and China have implemented nine projects successfully.

Preparations are underway for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on ASEAN-China Cooperation on Information and Communication Technology in June 2003.  Under the MOU, both sides would be collaborating in medium and longer term activities in HRD, information infrastructure development; technology development; ICT application development; compatibility, integrity, and security of ICT systems; e-ASEAN projects implementation; exchange of information; and ASEAN-China ICT seminar.

 ASEAN-China cooperation continued in the frameworks of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS), ASEAN Mekong Basin Development Cooperation and the Mekong River Commission.  China has expressed interest in sponsoring an Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) project, “Inland Waterway Improvement Project in CLMV Countries,” and other IAI projects utilising the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund. 

The Terms of Reference (TOR) for ASEAN-China Transport Cooperation was adopted during the First ASEAN and China Transport Ministers Meeting on 20 September 2002.  Under the TOR, the agreed areas for cooperation include land transport infrastructure and facilitation; facilitation of maritime and river transport; and expansion of air transport services.

Development cooperation between ASEAN and China has been progressing at a considerably fast pace especially with the establishment of the ASEAN-China Working Group on Development Cooperation (ACWGDC) in May 2002.  Between May 2002 and March 2003, ASEAN and China have implemented 14 projects in the areas of science and technology, ICT, agriculture, transport, social development, HRD, and mass media.  Eleven more projects covering ICT, HRD, science and technology, investment, transport, academic exchange, SME, environment, and cultural sectors are expected to be implemented within 2003.

 The Second Meeting of the ACWGDC, held on 26-27 March 2003 in Beijing, discussed ten new project proposals from China in the areas of entrepreneurs exchange, personnel exchange, AIDS laboratory network, law enforcement cooperation, quality inspection and quarantine, maritime, agriculture, biotechnology, and pension insurance.  The Meeting also reviewed seven project proposals from ASEAN in the fields of investment, inland waterway improvement, botanical gardens, empowerment of SMEs, culture, and seafarers.