China's Opening-up Strategy and Its Economic Relations with ASEAN Countries -- A Case Study of Yunnan Province

Description: 

Concllusion: "The report approaches China's opening-up strategy and China's economic relations with ASEAN countries, meanwhile it takes Yunnan province as a case, analyzes Yunnan's economic cooperation with Southeast Asian countries. We can draw some conclusion from the analysis 1. Opening-up is China's basic state policy. Since 1978 when China started reform and opening-up, its economy has been developing rapidly and the living standards of the Chinese people have been notably improved. The unprecedented social changes and expanding liberalization have injected great vigor into China's development and vitality into the global economy. China's sustained and rapid economic growth is attributed to opening-up. Facts have proven that China's opening up strategy steered China towards to the right course. China will firmly implementing an opening up strategy for mutually beneficial and win-win nature, intensifying trade and economic cooperation and realizing common development with other countries. 2. Though economic strength constantly increased, China is still a developing country. As a world's largest developing country, China and other developing countries have much common interests. To consolidate and develop friendly and cooperative relations with developing countries remain as the base stone in China's foreign policy. To strengthen South- South cooperation, raising South- South cooperation level, and expanding assistance to the developing countries will probably be the focal point of China's South-South cooperation in the future. 3. Southeast Asian countries are China's neighboring countries, the bilateral friendly tie goes back to the ancient times. At present, the relationship between China and Southeast Asian countries is in the best stage after founding of the People's Republic China. Establishment of China-ASEAN FTA, the GMS cooperation are the remarkable symbol of good neighbourly and friendly relations development between China and Southeast Asian countries in new historical stage, and it is also a good example of South- South cooperation. The neighborhood policy of building friendship and partnership with our neighboring countries will not only become China's guiding principle for handling foreign political relations, but also become the guiding principle for handling economic cooperation with neighbouring countries. 4. In China's economic relations with Southeast Asian countries, trade occupies the most important position. In recent years China's trade deficit has been higher than favourable balance of trade in its trade with Southeast Asia. China has become the third largest worldwide importer, creating more manufacture and job opportunities for many trade partners. Interdependence between China and Southeast Asian countries deepens. Two sides become the other's major market each other. China cannot develop without the world, while the world needs China for its prosperity. this tendency is more and more apparent in economic relations between China and Southeast Asia. As one of the two important sides of China's basic state policy of opening-up, "going global" has been identified as a major national strategy by Chinese government. In the wake of economic development, China's investment in Southeast Asian countries and project contracts will further increase. The forms of investment may be diversified from the simple business establishment to cross-border mergers and acquisitions, equity swap, overseas listing, R&D centers and industrial parks. 5. The Southwest China regions neighboring on Southeast Asian countries play a important role in China's economic relations with Southeast Asia. Of which Yunnan province borders three countries, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, and it has kept close economic and cultural ties with neighbouring countries. Yunnan province has an obvious advantage in the establishment of China-ASEAN FTA. Yunnan's sustained and rapid economic growth is attributed to opening-up, especially opening up to Southeast Asian countries. Yunnan made great progress through border trade, participation in the GMS cooperation, and building China-ASEAN FTA. However, as to China's trade with Southeast Asia, and also as to China's investment in Southeast Asia, Yunnan is not accounted for more than 1 percent, almost has no status. As a result, Yunnan still has long way to go for catching up advanced coastal and inland regions of China. 6. The GMS cooperation is a multilateral cooperation mechanism. The GMS represents a correct direction of cooperative development in developing countries and it establishes some commonly accepted principles which have gradually developed from the cooperation of member countries throughout the GMS process. Its successful experience of GMS is worth summing up and spreading. Yunnan plays a constructive role in the GMS cooperation. It is important task to continue pushing forward development of the GMS for both China and other countries."....Some useful trade figures in the appendices.

Creator/author: 

Zhu Zhenming

Source/publisher: 

Institute of Developing Economies (VRF paper 435)

Date of Publication: 

2008-02-00

Date of entry: 

2008-04-22

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Language: 

English

Format: 

Size: