ASEAN and “Belt and Road Initiative”: Economic and social relations between China and ASEAN members

This article explores and investigates some new trends in the economic and social relations between China and ASEAN members in the last 5 years (2013-2018). ASEAN has a P. 22 significant number of almost 650 million population, with US$2.761 trillion overall GDP and increasing purchasing power – US$12,328 per capita[1], thus making this regional bloc an important player in the global scale. Model of ASEAN integration evolved with visible new dynamism of deepening ties in the 2010s which is reflected in establishing ASEAN Community (AC) in 2015. The ASEAN region has a rich history of relations with its biggest neighbor – China. Its strategic geographical location and economic importance for China put the ASEAN countries in the scope of China’s flagship project: “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI). The main research question is how political changes in ASEAN countries and its internal integration (such as AC) influence economic and social relations with China. Also, what could be the possible impacts of BRI launched by Chinese government on ASEAN and its members? Is the Chinese engagement in frame of BRI in the ASEAN countries welcomed? Authors analyze overall data for ASEAN and also use four examples to illustrate the dynamism: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Findings are based on the literature review, popular media sources and analysis of selected economic and social indicators based on trade, capital and human flows, including projection on future. Data comparison and discussion lead to some plausible conclusions. Copyright © 2018 HKPSA Annual Conference.