Chinese FM's Southeast Asia tour injects fresh vitality into China-ASEAN ties: experts

This aerial photo taken on Oct. 28, 2022 shows the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville (PPSHV) Expressway in Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia. (PPSHV Expressway/Handout via Xinhua)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's four-day visit to three Southeast Asian countries highlighted China's strong commitment to solidarity and friendship with ASEAN, Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, said.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's four-day visit to three Southeast Asian countries has given new momentum to the strategic relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Cambodian experts said on Sunday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, concluded his three Southeast Asian-nation tours on Sunday, which had taken him to Singapore, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

During his trip, he met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia, King Norodom Sihamoni, outgoing Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen as well as incoming Prime Minister Hun Manet in Cambodia.

Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, a think-tank under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said Wang's visit highlighted China's strong commitments to solidarity and friendship with ASEAN.

"For Cambodia, his visit charts together the way forward for bilateral cooperation in building a high-quality, high-level, and high-standard Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era," he told Xinhua.

Wang's visit to Cambodia has also further deepened the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, the ironclad friendship, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation, and the diamond hexagon cooperation framework between the two countries, he added.

"His visit plays an important role in promoting China-Cambodia cooperation, enhancing mutual understanding and strategic trust, and deepening the building of a community with a shared future between the two countries," Phea said.

Aerial photo taken on April 15, 2019 shows the Alliance Steel at the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park in Pahang, Malaysia. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

The expert added that the visit also expressed China's full support for ASEAN and its unwavering commitment to working with ASEAN to promote multilateralism, win-win cooperation, inclusive growth, and sustainable development.

"A stable China-ASEAN relationship is crucial to ensure peace, security, stability, development, and prosperity in the whole region," he said.

Seun Sam, a policy analyst of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said Wang's visit to Cambodia was essential to deepen the two countries' strategic partnership.

"His visit serves as a testament to the enduring friendship and strategic partnership between Cambodia and China," he told Xinhua.

"It also demonstrates China's continued efforts to strengthen its ties with ASEAN, particularly within the framework of the BRI," he added.

Chinese tourists are seen along the Singapore River in Singapore on Feb. 7, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

Sam said the visit also demonstrated China's dedication to fostering strong relationships with its neighbors and promoting a shared vision of peace, development, and cooperation.

Thong Mengdavid, a research fellow at Phnom Penh-based independent think tank Asian Vision Institute, said Wang's trip represented China's vigorous and strategic engagement and collaboration with ASEAN, aiming at strengthening bilateral ties with those countries.

Mengdavid said China is the forerunner of multilateralism and a key promoter of peace in the region and in the world at large.