The Development Of ASEAN's Regionalism And China

ASEAN's regionalism is developing in ways of 'multi-tiers concentric circles' due to the changing of international and regional situations after the end of Cold War. Geographically ASEAN's regionalism developed from Southeast Asia to Asia-Pacific area and Southeast Asia is at the core. And the regional cooperation covered the political, economic, social and cultural fields, and the economic cooperation is the key project. In modes of regional cooperation, ASEAN's regionalism developed from loose regional cooperation to regional integration. In a ward, ASEAN's regionalism's extension and intension are all developed. ASEAN's regionalism has some clear features. First, in three ranges of Southeast Asia, East Asia and Asia-Pacific, construction of ASEAN Community is nuclear object in ASEAN's regionalism development. The other regional cooperation serves this object. The ASEAN's strategic goal of regional cooperation is to build a long-term framework for peace and cooperation in which ASEAN is the center. ASEAN wants to drive the regional cooperation all the time. This is manifested by the followings: the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia is made to be legal guarantee for the regional cooperation, the 'ASEAN way' acts as the link of regional cooperation, and ASEAN is the leader of the regional cooperation. ASEAN is striving to promote its integration and construct an ASEAN Community. Secondly, the regional cooperation has different objects and pace in different fields. The pace of economic cooperation is faster than political and secure cooperation. The economic cooperation shows systematized cooperation and takes the lead in integration. The regional cooperation in other fields, especially in political and secure fields, is mainly loose consultable cooperation and it has no bonding force. In secure field, the pace of non-traditional secure cooperation is faster than traditional one. All nations are careful for traditional secure cooperation. Thirdly, the strategy of keeping big powers in balance is carried out in ASEAN's regionalism. The feature is showed in ARF, 10+3 and inviting dialogue partners to access to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. ASEAN hopes to maintain the regional peace and stability through the balance of power.The development of ASEAN's regionalism is closely related to china. China as a big power that is adjacent to ASEAN plays an important role in the development of ASEAN's regionalism. The development of ASEAN's regionalism is a collective reaction for pressure and competition that caused by external factors. The rise of China is one of the external factors. In the view of AEAN, the rise of China brings them an opportunity as well as a challenge or 'threat'. ASEAN wants to make use of the rise of China to increase its competitive power to deal with changing of global politics andeconomy in one hand, and bond China to get rid of secure threat in other hand. These purpose are difficult to realize in bilateral or sub-regional cooperation. So ASEAN needs a broader and deeper regional cooperation framework. This consideration promotes ASEAN's regionalism to develop in wide-ranging and depth. The regionalism becomes a tool for ASEAN to cope with the rise of China.The cooperation and supports from China are the strong guarantee of the development of ASEAN's regionalism. ASEAN can't realize its strategic objective of regionalism alone due to its limits of power. All kinds of regional cooperation leading by ASEAN can't be pushed forward without Chinese collaboration and support China plays key roles in constructing of ASEAN Community, 10+3 East Asia cooperation and Asia Pacific cooperation. In one hand, ASEAN-China cooperation is a very important part of the development of ASEAN's regionalism;on the other hand, it is lever to promote realizing the objective of AEAN regionalism. China-ASEAN cooperation is a key link in the development of ASEAN's regionalism. But it has different functions in different area. In Southeast Asia, it may eliminate economic obstacles of ASEAN integration to a great extent. In East Asia, it helps to eliminate political barriers of East Asia integration to a great extent. In Asia Pacific, its main role is to maintain and spread the views of regional cooperation that both China and ASEAN approve of.The development of ASEAN's regionalism exerts all-round influence on secure, economic and political interest of China. The influence of the development of ASEAN's regionalism has dual nature. It offers both opportunities and challenges for China to safeguard its national interests. In the sphere of security, China participating in all regional cooperation that led by ASEAN may break strategic ring of encirclement constructed by U.S. to great extent, destroys the Taiwan independence claimants' plot of expanding international existence space, maintains peaceful and stable periphery of China, eliminates the threat of non-traditional security. But some characteristics of ASEAN's regionalism, for example, using collective force to deal with china, keeping big powers in balance and pursuing non-compulsory soft-mechanisms, also place China in a difficult position to defend its territorial integrity. In the political field, the development of ASEAN's regionalism offers China a bigger stage to propagandize its political values and scientific developmental view and sets a peaceful responsible big power image. In the economic field, the development of ASEAN's regionalism is helpful to safeguarding Chinese economic security and energy security and promoting economic development in western backward areas of China. But some economic interests of China are facing challenge. In a word, the development of ASEAN's regionalism brings China both opportunities and challenges, and the opportunities are more than challenges on the whole. So China is participating in construction of ASEAN's regionalism actively and making great efforts to push it forward. In the different sphere ofregional cooperation, China has different benefits and costs. Some national interests of China restrain each other to a certain extent. It is impossible for China to seek the maximum of all kinds of national interests in the regional cooperation. China lays stress on the balance of the partial and the whole interest, the long-term and the short-term interests, national and regional interests, and the material and ideological interests. The ideological interests, that China wants to set a peaceful responsible big power image and create a political culture of 'cooperation and sharing wins', occupy an important place in all kinds of interests.In a word, the development of ASEAN's regionalism is effected by China factor, and at the same time ASEAN's regionalism is the stage that China maintains its national interests. China should construct a rational regional strategy to safeguard its national interests and the regional interests to a great extent.