China–ASEAN Relations January 2022 to March 2022: Chronology of Events

Abstract

China–ASEAN Relations January 2022 to March 2022: Chronology of Events Chen Juan (bio) As a research institute based in Singapore, the EAI monitors developments in relations and interactions between China and the individual countries of Southeast Asia as well as the ASEAN grouping as a whole. This material is presented in the form of (i) a chronology of events and (ii) important documents. —the Editors JANUARY 2022 1st The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement enters into force for 10 of the participating countries (Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). For the remaining participating countries, the agreement will enter into force 60 days after they deposit their instrument of ratification with the RCEP Depositary. 10th Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announces at a press conference China’s support for Cambodia to resolve the issue in Myanmar. The remark is a response to a question related to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar on 7 January 2022. Cambodia, the ASEAN Chair in 2022, has been making efforts to invite Myanmar’s military junta to engage with ASEAN. The announcement makes China the second country, after Japan, to back Cambodia’s decision. 11th Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks on the telephone with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Xi has expressed readiness to foster new areas of collaboration such as new energy, low-carbon development, the digital economy and maritime cooperation. The Indonesian side welcomes investments from Chinese enterprises as well as cooperation in high technology and green areas. Both sides share updates on the construction of the Jakarta–Bandung High-Speed Railway which has progressed smoothly and is expected to enter operation as planned. 13th Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds a telephone conversation with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Noting that bilateral trade has achieved encouraging progress in 2021, both sides agree to work together on improving the efficiency and convenience in the customs clearance of Vietnam’s exports of agricultural products to China. 17th The Fifth Manila Forum for China–Philippines Relations is held online with the theme “Hand in Hand for a Stronger and Reinforced China– Philippines Friendship”. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a keynote speech, promising to keep China’s door open to more agricultural products from the Philippines and to synergise the Belt and Road Initiative with the Philippines’ “Build, Build, Build” strategy. He also announces an additional grant of RMB100 million provided by the Chinese government to support the Philippines’ reconstruction of areas hit by typhoon Odette in December 2021. 19th The 21st Meeting of the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Tourism Ministers held in Cambodia notes that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect international travel to the APT region in 2021, as international visitors further declined by 39.4 per cent compared to 2020. Similarly, tourism receipts in 2021 dropped by 81.9 per cent compared to 2020. Ministers update each other on measures undertaken by their respective countries and discuss ways to collaboratively reopen the tourism sector. They welcome the endorsement of the ASEAN Guidelines for Hygiene and Safety for Professionals and the Communities in the Tourism Industry and the ASEAN Safe Travel Stamp, as efforts to enhance the trust of international travellers to Southeast Asia. FEBRUARY 2022 4th Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visits Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. At a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, she shares her plan to publish a book in Thailand introducing the history of the Communist Party of China, and to visit various parts of China to conduct research. Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. They exchange views on the developments related to the South China Sea, US–China relations and the situation in the Asia Pacific region. Balakrishnan, together with two other ministers, accompanied Singaporean President Halimah Yacob for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. President Halimah is one of the 30 heads of state, governments and international organisations who attended the event. After the event, she meets respectively with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping, where both sides agree to expand...