China's Economic Ties with Southeast Asia

Abstract

In the past decade, China has emerged as a key partner of Southeast Asia (SEA) across trade, investment, and infra-structure development. Southeast Asian economies have significantly benefited from the strong economic growth of China over the years, both from high commodity prices driven by strong demand in China and an expanding regional production network where China plays the role of an important processing hub. However, the resulting dependency on China has created a wide range of political and economic vulnerability for regional economies.