Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recently concluded visit to Southeast Asia, his first overseas trip this year, demonstrated China’s determination to deepen traditional ties, expand practical cooperation and advance its vision of building a society with a shared future with its neighbors. The tour, which covered Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, also signaled China’s renewed efforts to strengthen regional stability and prosperity and its steadfast support for regional economic integration as global protectionism and unilateralism continue to grow.[1] Another focus of the round was the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to enhance regional connectivity and create development opportunities through a wide range of projects from infrastructure to digital and green economy.[2]
During these visits, where regional co-operation came to the fore, many strategic agreements were signed in areas such as infrastructure and technology. In this way, China’s economic ties in the region were strengthened and the security and stability of supply chains were supported. Through economic and diplomatic dialogues, attention was drawn to the consolidation of regional peace. Moreover, efforts towards economic cooperation are not limited to agreements or negotiations between countries. Because China also conducts various dialogues with these countries within the scope of both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the BRI. This increases regional integration and underlines multilateral diplomacy.
The talks touched upon efforts to deepen free trade between China and ASEAN. In addition, China is pursuing a policy of balance against the presence of the United States of America (USA) in the region through its strong economic relations with ASEAN. Although there are occasional tensions over maritime jurisdictions in the region, China aims to create an environment of trust to maintain trade relations and reduce regional tensions by promoting mutual respect, dialogue and cooperation such as joint maritime safety trainings through such visits.
All 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) also co-operate with China under the BRI. For example, there is an east coast railway with Malaysia, a Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail line with Indonesia, a railway with Laos, a partnership with Cambodia over ports and an economic corridor with Myanmar. These projects contribute to the infrastructure, development and modernization of ASEAN countries, while securing China’s trade routes and increasing its regional influence, especially through economic cooperation.
The US, which does not confront China diplomatically by claiming that it defends the ‘One China’ policy, but continues its ‘contain China’ policy through military alliances such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) or AUKUS, offers ASEAN countries an alternative cooperation option and pursues a policy of balance against Chinese influence in the region. This is because the cooperation developed by China in the region within the scope of the BRI and ASEAN challenges the international order in which the US maintains its claim to leadership. Therefore, the US is trying to ensure its control and maintain stability in the system. In doing so, it keeps China in the system by maintaining its trade relations with China and applies a balancing strategy since they are economically intertwined. Thus, while avoiding a direct conflict with China, it also adopts some strategies to limit its influence.
In recent years, the United States has sought to establish multilateral dialogues with ASEAN. Since 2015, it has maintained dialogues with ASEAN at the ‘strategic partnership’ level in areas such as trade, technology, environment, health and education. US presidents regularly attend ASEAN summits to strengthen ties with the region. However, the fact that ASEAN countries are also in close relations with China necessitates a balancing diplomacy and leads to increased strategic competition within the region.
As a result, China’s economic and diplomatic cooperation with Southeast Asian countries not only helps the development of the region and reinforces stability, but also enhances China’s role as a global power. The BRI- and ASEAN-mediated projects and dialogues, on the other hand, provide complementary or alternative resources for Southeast Asian countries towards their development goals, while deepening China’s economic influence in the region. Moreover, constructive dialogues with ASEAN enable China to project a positive image as a more attractive and credible major actor by using soft power.
These improvements are also being carefully monitored by the USA. Because it is trying to create a balance against China’s regional influence not only through geopolitical alliances such as QUAD and AUKUS, but also by establishing direct dialogues with ASEAN countries. The rising influence of China in the Asia-Pacific and the balancing strategies of the United States against the efforts of ASEAN countries to maintain a balancing policy in line with multilateral cooperation are setting the stage for a multidimensional power struggle in the region. In fact, the future of the region is significantly shaped by the roles of balancing actors such as Southeast Asian countries as well as the competition of great powers.
[1] “Xi’s Southeast Asia visit deepens shared commitment to neighborhood amity, cooperation”, Xinhua News, https://english.news.cn/20250419/bcfd8bea4d9245a5bf4adff12070d81a/c.html, (Date Accessed: 19.04.2025).
[2] Ibid.
