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China and ASEAN: Win-win cooperation as neighbours

China and ASEAN: Win-win cooperation as neighbours
Written by Zheng Junfeng
  • Apr 23, 2025
  • 3 min read

President Xi Jinping’s Southeast Asia visit underscores growing China–ASEAN ties in trade, technology and culture, offering a model for cooperation amid global uncertainty.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’svisit to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodiareaffirms a neighbourhood diplomacy that prioritises mutual benefit, regional prosperity and South–South solidarity.

Recent CGTN surveys conductedin collaborationwith Renmin University and the Academy for International Communication in the New Era revealed strikingly high favourability toward China in these three Southeast Asian nations—with ratings exceeding 90%.

In trade relations, thousands of respondents across the three nations showed remarkable alignment: 97.6% in Vietnam, 94% in Malaysia, and 95.7% in Cambodia affirmed China’s economic contributions to the world. Over 85%recognised the openness of China’s market, as evidenced by China’s 16-year reign as ASEAN’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade hit a historic $982.3 billion in 2024, up 7.8% year-on-year, underscoring the vast potential of this shared marketof two-billion people.

In investment and infrastructure, 88% of Vietnamese respondents endorsed China-ASEAN economic collaboration, while 93% of Malaysians commendedChina’s global governance efforts. Meanwhile, 95.8% of Cambodians view China as a trustworthy partner. The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway has reduced travel time from fivehours to two. The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, a "model of China-Cambodia cooperation," hosts over 200 enterprises and has created 32,000 jobs. China also plans three new railways to Vietnam,continuinga 115-year partnership. The China-Malaysia industrial parks have generated over $210 billion in industrial output across biopharma and green energy sectors.

In technology, 85.5% Vietnamese and 77.6% Cambodian respondents have learnt about or used China’s artificial intelligence (AI) toolDeepSeek, while 94.6% of Malaysians lauded China’s technologicalprowess. China-Malaysia cross-border digital payment networks now serve 200 million users across Southeast Asian. From 5G infrastructure to smart manufacturing, Sino-ASEAN tech synergy is reshaping regional economies. As 95.9% of Cambodians agree, technology collaboration with China has become a pivotal growth engine.

Cultural ties are also strengthening.Chinese video games boosted cultural understanding for80.6% of Vietnamese, 73.7% of Malaysians, and 95.8% of Cambodians. Three-quarters of respondents recognisedChina’s blockbuster Ne Zha 2, while 99.2% of Cambodians engage with Chinese pop culture. Notably, 97.2% of Cambodians acknowledgedChina’s role in preserving their cultural heritage.

Living the Chinese adage "a close neighbour is better than a distant relative," President Xi Jinping has practiced "amicable, sincere, mutually beneficial and inclusive" neighbourhood diplomacy since 2013. This year, he chose Southeast Asia for his first overseas visit to continue this diplomacy. Amid global turbulence, this model of neighbourhood diplomacy not only benefits the twobillion people across 11 countries in the region, but also offersa  rare source of stability to the world, charting a course for South-South cooperation.

Zheng Junfeng is a commentator at CGTN.