The Chinese top leaders' latest visits to southeast neighbors have sent an important signal to the world: it is time to blaze a win-win trail with an increasingly interconnected Asia Pacific.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (front) attends the 16th China-ASEAN leaders' meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Oct 9, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua] |
An interconnected Asia Pacific is buttressed by the actual needs of those countries in the region. The blueprint, based on the realities of the Asia Pacific, takes into account both the differences and complementarity of the region's nations.
As for China, with its economy facing the pressure of overcapacity, supporting neighboring countries to boost its domestic growth is an effective approach, stimulating both domestic consumption and external needs.
On the part of ASEAN members, lack of infrastructure has been a bottleneck constraining their economic growth. Deeper cooperation with China will offer a breakout from their inherited growth pattern.
From the global perspective, as the rebalancing of the world economy gains momentum and Asia's emerging economies decelerate amid the volatile external environment, a stable and burgeoning Asia Pacific will be a blessing to the entire world.
The latest World Bank report revealed China is now in a transition in its mode of growth with less reliance on external markets. China's GDP growth target has dropped below eight percent as the focus shifts to the quality of the economy rather than the growth digit.
Economic growth in ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia has plunged, however, due to weaker exports, decreasing investment and a fall in bulk commodities prices.
Such a backdrop will increase the odds of more regional cooperation because interdependence between China and ASEAN countries, in this context, has grown, not reduced.