INTRODUCTION

Let me begin by defining the word “win-win partnership” in the context of ASEAN-China dialogue relations. As the Chinese saying goes, “benevolent government and friendship with neighbouring countries are the good fortune of a country”, ASEAN and China are tapping the opportunities and complementarities offered by each other and acting as catalyst for one another to achieve higher development goals while maintaining peace, security and stability crucial for economic growth and prosperity. It means forging substantive cooperation based on the principles of mutual trust, respect, equality and mutual gains to create conditions that will benefit the people of both regions. The Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and China signed by the leaders of ASEAN and China in October 2003 called for the securing of such a partnership in the political and security, economic, social and cultural, and regional and international cooperation fields.

REPOSITIONING CHINESE POLICY VIS-À-VIS ASEAN

ASEAN-China relations in the last decade have not always been easy. In fact, the relationship has seen its ups and downs. Before ties between ASEAN and China were formally established in 1991, they were marked by mutual suspicion, mistrust and animosity largely because of China's support for the communist parties in ASEAN countries.

The normalization of relations with China in 1990 by Indonesia and then Singapore and Brunei Darussalam acted as a catalyst to set the path for China's admission into the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1994 and eventually the granting of ASEAN dialogue partnership in 1996. Since then, the partnership grew from strength to strength resulting in the expansion and deepening of cooperation in the economic, political and security, social and cultural and development cooperation areas.

My Chinese friends have often said to me, “a close neighbour means more than a distant relative”. ASEAN recognized that it would have to work with China, its most populous neighbour in East Asia, to address the issues and challenges in the region.

On the other hand, China was receptive to the friendly initiatives of ASEAN. This was largely due to the reorientation that the Chinese foreign policy went through.