China's partnership with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is entering a new phase, which is no longer defined by trade numbers alone, said participants at a regional forum on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
Experts and officials said that as global crises from energy shocks to supply chain disruptions ripple across borders, the true measure of success lies in whether China and ASEAN can build collective resilience and ensure equitable development across the region.
They said that disagreements between China and ASEAN countries should be resolved through formal bilateral dialogue channels, allowing relations to remain stable despite geopolitical tensions.
Themed "China's Development and the World: Modernization, Transformation and Global Implications", the event was jointly organized by the East Asian International Relations Caucus, or EAIR, and the University of Malaya's Institute of China Studies, or ICS, with support from the Chinese embassy in Malaysia.
"Walking together takes us far, and steadfast cooperation brings a promising tomorrow. China will join hands with Malaysia and all other ASEAN countries to advance our diverse paths of modernization," said Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing in his welcoming remarks.
Ouyang said that China's modernization is rooted in peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation.
He added that this year marks the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and closer cooperation between the two sides has benefited more than 2 billion people, laying a solid foundation for an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner for the past 17 years. However, according to Nur Shahadah Jamil, a senior lecturer at ICS, the relationship extends "well beyond pure economic exchange".
She said that the true metric of the China-ASEAN partnership is their collective regional resilience against transboundary global crises, and the equitable distribution of development benefits across all communities.
The senior lecturer added that bilateral cooperation needs to evolve from one-off transactional commercial deals to long-term partnerships based on three pillars: trust, full transparency and mutual strategic respect.
"Disagreements can be openly communicated through formal bilateral strategic dialogue channels to maintain stable ties," she said.
Hoo Chiew-ping, co-founder and senior fellow of EAIR, said that the "ultimate benchmark" for the governance of China-ASEAN cooperation lies in the equitable distribution of local benefits, and the implementation of the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative to achieve genuine mutual interdependence and shared prosperity.
Wei Ling, professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said that the partnership between China and ASEAN has improved livelihoods while transforming regional relations "from mutual suspicion to a mutually beneficial partnership".
Wei said that China's contribution to global governance "cannot be realized unilaterally; it must be delivered through equal partnership with ASEAN and all global developing partners".
She added that people-centered development and ASEAN centrality will remain crucial to the region's long-term prosperity.
Chan Foong Hin, Malaysia's deputy minister of agriculture and food security, cited Malaysia-China relations and the granting of market access for fresh Malaysian durians to China as helping improve the livelihoods of Malaysian farmers.
Chan said that amid shifting global dynamics and transformation, a stronger partnership between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing serves as a "vital anchor for regional stability".
"By moving forward together, we ensure that the benefits of China's immense development continue to ripple constructively through Malaysia, ASEAN and the wider world," he said.