China-ASEAN institutional cooperation is forging a shared regional order in a world in flux

Nowadays, a stark dissonance defines the global conversation. Western leaders speak of a “rupture in the world order” and the fading of the United States-led “rules-based order”. Yet, in Asia, a different, more constructive narrative holds sway — one not of fragmentation, but of meticulous, rules-based opening and integration.

While some lament the end of an era, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are collaboratively authoring a new chapter in regional governance. Their efforts have been decisively uplifted from connecting projects to aligning systems, from facilitating flows to forging shared rules.

This transition from cross-border trade to behind-the-border cooperation marks a historic leap from quantitative accumulation to a qualitative breakthrough, offering a stabilizing model for an uncertain world.

China’s 2026 Government Work Report, delivered on March 5, reinforces the country’s commitment to steadily expanding rules-based opening-up as it enters the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, focusing on rules, regulations, management and standards. The Government Work Report outlines a clear road map, advancing accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, reforming domestic regulations on market access and data flows, and aligning Chinese standards with international norms. This is not ad-hoc liberalization but a systemic strategy to shape new advantages in international cooperation and competition.

ASEAN is also pursuing the bloc’s own development agenda in 2026. The convergence between China and ASEAN is further strengthened as 2026 marks the 35th anniversary of their dialogue relations and the fifth year of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, marked by the jointly launched Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2026-30).

The resilience of cooperation between China and ASEAN stems from a shared governance philosophy, not a mechanical transplant of rules.

First, both China and ASEAN actively pursue development-oriented and people-centered paths. China’s people-centered approach, reflected in the Government Work Report’s emphasis on “small and beautiful” livelihood projects, finds a direct echo in the human-centric principle of ASEAN Community Vision 2045. For both, rule-making is anchored in tangible human development.

Second, China-ASEAN cooperation is deeply rooted in their embrace of pragmatism. Cooperation is founded on respect for the diversity of each member country’s development path. This is mirrored in flexible arrangements such as the extended tariff reduction schedules for Cambodia under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the “common but differentiated responsibilities” principle in the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement 3.0, which allows members to integrate into regional economic cooperation at their own pace.

Third, cooperation between China and the members of ASEAN practices non-confrontational and trust-based governance. Despite geopolitical headwinds, both sides, as highlighted in the Government Work Report, focus on expanding converging interests and uphold a multilateral trade system based on the World Trade Organization. Both resist the securitization of economic issues, upholding that development is the greatest form of security. The “dual-track approach” on the South China Sea — advancing the Code of Conduct negotiations and consultations while fostering low-sensitivity practical cooperation in marine ecological conservation and marine search and rescue — exemplifies this constructive wisdom.

This cooperation model between China and ASEAN provides a concrete, replicable example for a broader Global South response to the challenges of global governance.

First, it offers an Asian solution to “rule fragmentation”. In contrast to exclusive, values-bound blocs promoted elsewhere, China and ASEAN are building an interoperable rules network. ?Tools such as cumulative rules of origin and shared standard platforms lower business costs and resolve conflicts. This development-friendly rule-making seeks the broadest consensus, truly practicing extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.

Second, it reasserts the primacy of the right to development. Unlike partnerships that impose political conditionalities, this cooperation is based on empowerment. China provides technology and market access — a testing ground for new rules — while ASEAN members retain full agency. The essence is symbiosis, not domination.

Third, it defines an “autonomous Asia” through institutional practice. ? China-ASEAN cooperation proves that major and smaller players can co-create a stable order. China contributes resources and expertise but explicitly respects ASEAN centrality and its consensus-based “ASEAN Way”. China’s principles of shared responsibility and inclusive collaboration align perfectly with the region’s vision for a peaceful, sustainable future and a China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

This path embodies the ASEAN Outlook on the Asia-Pacific’s vision of an “ASEAN-centered regional architecture”.

True order does not eliminate differences; it allows differences to be managed. True autonomy is fortified through open cooperation, not isolation. As the world grapples with uncertainty, China and ASEAN are accelerating their institutional partnership to build a lighthouse of stability. This beacon, built on shared rules and mutual respect, illuminates Asia’s path of self-determination. In doing so, it offers the world a compelling, constructive answer from Asia: that a more stable, equitable and resilient order is not just possible — it is being built, one shared rule at a time.

The author is the vice-dean of the China-ASEAN Research Institute at Guangxi University.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.