China Calls for Deeper Economic Integration with Southeast Asia during Annual ASEAN Summit

At the ongoing annual ASEAN-China summit talks in Vientiane, Laos, Chinese Premier Li Qiang has underlined his country's goal of bolstering economic cooperation with the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In his opening remarks, Premier Li stressed that the China-ASEAN market – comprising over 670 million consumers – provides immense opportunities to drive shared prosperity. He called for deeper market integration through strengthened policy coordination and synchronization between the two sides.

This year's summit is focused on upgrading the existing ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement to foster closer supply chain connectivity, particularly in vital sectors like digital trade and sustainable industries. Bilateral trade has ballooned significantly since the initial pact, reaching almost $700 billion in value last year alone.

Despite efforts to boost commercial linkages, geopolitical tensions related to maritime borders continue hovering over the proceedings. Countries like Vietnam and the Philippines – embroiled in long-running disputes with Beijing over the resource-rich South China Sea – remain wary of its rising military assertion in the contested waterway.

There are concerns China's more aggressive enforcement of its extensive sovereignty claims, including reported incidents of clashing with other claimant states' vessels, could undermine regional stability. However, with China being ASEAN's biggest trade partner and a major investor, the bloc has generally avoided strong criticism of its actions.

Experts note that while various challenges like the South China Sea issue and Myanmar's ongoing crisis pose difficulties, ASEAN's central role in forging cooperation remains indispensable given its geographical position bridging South and East Asia. The summit talks are expected to yield further deals to cement ASEAN-China ties, even as underlying geostrategic frictions simmer.