Asia-Pacific

A Preview of China-Southeast Asia Relations in 2016

China’s ties with the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remain stable and bilateral cooperation will likely deepen in the coming year. China is likely to accelerate its “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) strategy, which will inevitably require cooperation with ASEAN countries. Meanwhile, China is willing to keep the South China Sea disputes stable.

On the economic front, an upgraded version of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement was signed in November, 2015. However, negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes ASEAN members and the regional bloc’s existing FTA partners, will make limited advances to finalize an agreement, because some countries, like India, are reluctant to further open up domestic markets. In addition, economic dyads without bilateral FTAs, like China-Japan, South Korea-Japan, and India-Australia pose another obstacle. Generally, though, China-Southeast Asia relations will be improved next year, with more economic and cultural cooperation between China and ASEAN.