Lu Guangsheng

Southeast Asia is among the first regions where China initiated the building of a community with a shared future. It has been 10 years since President Xi Jinping put forward the idea of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future in 2013. Indeed， this idea has become a basic principle and a vision of China and ASEAN in managing their relations. It is also the best example of China and ASEAN jointly reshaping the order of Southeast Asia and that of the Asia-Pacific region.

The China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future Embodies the Latest Idea of China and ASEAN in Reshaping the Regional Order

The vision of building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future has been formed progressively over the period. On October 3， 2013， President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech themed “Building A Closer China-ASEAN Community with A Shared Future” to the Indonesian parliament， where the vision was first proposed and then recognized and endorsed by ASEAN countries.

On November 22， 2021， President Xi Jinping addressed the Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations and pointed out that the development of China-ASEAN relations should center on building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future. Countries concerned should work together to build a homeland with peace， a safe and secure homeland， a prosperous homeland， a beautiful homeland， and an amicable homeland. To build these five homelands is actually a practical way to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. It also reveals the fact that the ultimate goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind is to build a homeland shared by all.

Over the past 10 years， actions to promote the building of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future have been well underway. At the bilateral level， China has been building communities with a shared future with more and more Southeast Asian countries. At the multilateral level， the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation （LMC） community with a shared future， among others， have been vigorously promoted. And the LMC community with a shared future is actually the first sub-regional one of its kind that has been officially recognized by countries concerned. At the international level， a China-ASEAN community with a shared future sets a fine example for building communities with a shared future worldwide since this community not only facilitates good neighborliness， but also plays a pioneering role in building a neighboring community with a shared future and a community with a shared future for mankind.

Looking back， various communities were proposed in Southeast Asia， most of which， however， ended up in nothing. The China-ASEAN community with a shared future， though a latecomer， has made remarkable achievements. As a vision embodies the latest idea of China and ASEAN in reshaping the regional order， it is different from the tributary system， colonialism and the treaty system. It is also distinguished from the regional order led by the US which upholds Western style of international economic cooperation and only benefits Western countries. In contrast， it demonstrates the spirit of extensive consultation， joint contribution and shared benefits. This community is a combination of Chinas vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and ASEANs vision of building an ASEAN community. In essence， it is the result of years of institutional cooperation between China and ASEAN.

The China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future and the Reshaping of the Regional Order Reinforce Each Other

The China-ASEAN community with a shared future comes into being as the order of Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region at large is undergoing reshaping. Such kind of reshaping includes both the increase of actors involved and changes of interactions among the actors. Regarding the increase of actors involved， many actors in Southeast Asia， including ASEAN and some other major regional powers such as China and Japan， start to have a say in shaping the regional order as the US no longer dominate the regional situation single-handly. Regarding changes of interactions among the actors， an increasing number of networks among them have been formed， making the whole region closely interconnected.

The increase of actors involved and their closer interactions have promoted the multilateralism in Southeast Asia. Indeed， a China-ASEAN community with a shared future and the reshaping of the regional order are reinforcing each other， since the community is both a product of the reshaping and a factor that reshapes the regional order.

On the one hand， the reshaping of the regional order is a precondition for the proposal of this community. The reshaping has increased the autonomy of ASEAN， which has played a balancing role in the region by continuously strengthening its integration. It is against this background that ASEAN has gradually become the new center of the region. For China， the reshaping has also accelerated the shift from a “China-centered” view to a “neighborhood-based” one. Before the end of the Cold War， the relations between China and its neighbors could be categorized into three types： the China-centered one in the ancient times， the West-centered one in the modern times， and the one with the US and the Soviet Union at the center after the end of the World War II. However， things began to change after the Cold War. China and many of its neighboring countries have gradually formed various regional communities and the China-ASEAN community with a shared future is a typical example. This community， centered on China and ASEAN countries， strives to pursue common development and is different from the old ones which were usually led by one country. Instead， it helps regional countries to determine their own destinies and the regional norms.

On the other hand， to build a China-ASEAN community with a shared future is both a strategic goal for and an important strategic means of reshaping the regional order. As China and ASEAN become increasingly important in the regional and global governance system， the reshaping is a main aspect of the interactions between the two sides. A community with a shared future means that countries will grasp their destinies in their own hands. Likewise， to build a China-ASEAN community with a shared future means that destinies of China and ASEAN will be determined by themselves. On the basis of this community， China and ASEAN countries have established a mutually beneficial regional system with an aim to realize the enduring peace and development of countries concerned， to build a stable regional order， and to ensure the lasting peace and development of the region.

Norms formed in the process of building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future will help reshape the regional order. A China-ASEAN community with a shared future featuring extensive consultation， joint contribution and shared benefits indicates that the regional order will be determined by the regional countries. This in itself demonstrates that the aim of the reshaping is to build a more just and reasonable regional order. When building this community， ideas of parties involved are re-framed and their interests are exchanged. ASEAN thus gradually moves from the periphery to the center and becomes the new center of the region. It breaks the traditional mindset of center vs. periphery， and is conducive to the collective rise of regional countries.

The Path to Building the China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future Against the Background of Reshaping the Regional Order

The regional order pursued by building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future reflects the view of China and ASEAN on this issue. To build such an order， we need to manage properly not only the relations with countries in the region， but also the relations with those outside the region.

First， we should ensure ASEANs centrality and strengthen mutual understanding between China and ASEAN. Although all major powers are emphasizing the importance of maintaining ASEANs centrality in trans-regional cooperation， intentions behind and their impacts vary. For example， actions taken by the US， with an aim to strengthen its alliance system， have increased the disputes over the regional security architecture and thus directly threatened ASEANs centrality. As the strategic competition between the US and China intensifies， the US and its Western allies will further enlist ASEAN to block China， making the strategic status of ASEAN enhanced. Under such circumstances， we need to adopt new approaches to help consolidate ASEANs centrality in the region.

The key to consolidating ASEANs centrality lies in helping ASEAN to play a more important role in the regional affairs. When building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future， we need to actively participate in ASEAN-led regional multilateral mechanisms and help ASEAN play a more significant role in reshaping the regional order. We should fully recognize and respect ASEANs perception of its centrality and prioritize ASEANs norms in dealing with regional affairs. When reshaping the regional order， we should safeguard ASEANs right to speak， and jointly advocate the principles of openness， inclusiveness， transparency， mutual respect for sovereignty， non-interference in internal affairs， equality and reciprocity. We should also encourage ASEAN to reject taking sides， and jointly oppose the Asian version of NATO.

Second， we should enrich the content of China-ASEAN community with a shared future with a main focus on security and development. We should pursue common development under the guidance of new development concept， and realize common security under the guidance of new security concept. A China-ASEAN community with a shared future is not a political entity and can only be built through mechanisms and programs. We should leverage existed mechanisms， in particular， international organizations and bilateral and multilateral high-level mechanisms to provide smooth communication channels for decision-makers. We should also make full use of existed cooperation mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative， the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area， also to implement the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative in a coordinated way， and jointly build closer cross-border industrial supply chains， and expand and deepen the economic cooperation with ASEAN.

The China-ASEAN community with a shared future cannot be built overnight. Instead， it is a long and arduous process. We need to gain both physical connectivity and spiritual identification. We need to first build a community of interests and a community of responsibility， and then a community with a shared future. This process can be completed only through systematic and pragmatic strategic design. Therefore， we should enrich the content of the community step by step， take into account the common interests of relevant parties， and assume the common responsibility， so as to realize a shared future. To be specific， we not only need to set visionary goals like building a mutually-beneficial and harmonious world， and advocating common values of humanity， but also take concrete actions in such areas like politics， economy， and security.

Third， we should promote interactions among various communities and build an open and inclusive regional order. Various bilateral， multilateral and trans-regional communities with a shared future have emerged in recent years. In Southeast Asia， there are bilateral ones such as China-Vietnam， China-Cambodia， China-Myanmar， and China-Indonesia communities with a shared future. There are also the LMC community with a shared future， the community with a shared future in the neighborhood， the Asian community with a shared future， and the Asia-Pacific community with a shared future. What we need to do is to help ASEAN countries have a better understanding on these communities and ensure the Global Development Initiative， the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative to be better implemented in the region.

To better build communities with a shared future at bilateral， regional and trans-regional level， we need to come up with detailed development plans and make more efforts to boost interactions among them. On the one hand， it is imperative to promote interactions among the communities started with Chinas initiative， among the bilateral and multilateral ones in the region， and among the trans-regional ones， and try to upgrade the bilateral communities to sub-regional ones through admitting more new members. On the other hand， it is necessary to dovetail communities initiated by China with initiatives proposed by the ASEAN countries， support the building of ASEAN community and synergize it with other communities that China has implemented in its neighboring regions， and better align the Belt and Road Initiative with the ASEAN development plan.

In addition， we should properly manage the relationship with countries outside the region and build an open and inclusive regional order that is acceptable to all. To firmly uphold multilateralism， we need to strengthen interactions with the US and integrate third-party cooperation into China-ASEAN cooperation. Playing a more critical role in reshaping the regional order， serves ASEANs interests in maintaining centrality in the region and helps alleviate its pressure to take sides. This will also help China to break the bloc politics and camp confrontation that the US has long promoted in the region.

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Lu Guangsheng is Director and Professor of Institute of International Relations Yunnan University