Can China’s OBOR Initiative Synergize with AEC Blueprint 2025?

Abstract

The ASEAN Community was officially launched at the end of 2015, together with the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025. The latter envisions ASEAN as a competitive and globally-connected region, which also has a voice in global economic fora. But given the wide development gaps within ASEAN, combined with its extremely weak institutional base and its weakening leadership role in East Asian economic cooperation, there is much uncertainty about whether ASEAN can realize its ambitious target of becoming a single market and maintaining its centrality. As trading partners, China has since 2009 been ASEAN’s largest, while ASEAN has since 2010 been China’s third largest. China further vowed to deepen China-ASEAN relations at the 13th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held in Guangxi on 11 September 2016. Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli pledged that “China will firmly support the building of ASEAN Community, support ASEAN’s central role in regional cooperation, and support ASEAN to play a greater role in international and regional affairs”. But for ASEAN, the most pressing question is how China and its initiatives can assist ASEAN member countries achieve their development priorities. In other words, to what extent can the OBOR initiative synergize with the AEC Blueprint 2025, provide new momentum for AEC and strengthen ASEAN’s central position within the new wave of regional economic integration in Asia Pacific?