China and ASEAN should enhance their railway cooperation to realize greater economic development

In the post-pandemic era, global economic recovery is still a long way off, and the process of regional cooperation needs to be resumed urgently. In this context, China-Southeast Asia railway cooperation has once again put the pedal to the metal, injecting strong momentum into regional connectivity.

As a product of the industrial revolution, the railway carries the quest for convenient and efficient modern life. Railway construction in Southeast Asia began in the late 19th century. During this period, European colonizers established a rudimentary railway network in Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines. Thailand also got its first railway under the New Deal of King Rama V. The United Kingdom, France and Japan all proposed regional railway schemes, but nothing came of them. In the post-Cold War era, development-oriented regional cooperation gradually emerged in East Asia, and infrastructure connectivity became an important agenda item. In 1995, then Malaysian prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad proposed the construction of the Trans-Asian Railway linking Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries in the central and southern peninsula to Kunming in China. The Trans-Asian Railway is the first application of the "ASEAN+"model of infrastructure cooperation.

China is an important participant in the regional connectivity process. Railway cooperation between China and Southeast Asia has a long history, and the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, which opened in 1910, is the earliest railway connecting China and Southeast Asia. Since China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China-Southeast Asia railway cooperation has reached a new level in the form of a number of key projects such as the China-Laos Railway, Indonesia's Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, Malaysia's East Coast Rail Link, and so on. The China-Laos Railway was completed and began operations in 2021, becoming the first completed section of the Trans-Asian Railway. By the time of the first anniversary of its opening, the China-Laos Railway had transported more than 1.9 million metric tons of cross-border goods.

China's railway infrastructure in Southeast Asia runs at the Chinese speed. First, the countries in the region adhere to the spirit of equality and mutual benefit. In the process of cooperation, China has always adhered to the principle of full consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. And in the strategic layout, China can balance the coasts and the hinterland and integrate regional development disparities. Second, China not only has the advantage of a whole infrastructure industry chain, but also introduces a variety of innovative financing modes in cooperation, and has strong competitiveness in cost control. Third, railway connectivity enables the full flow of factors such as people, goods, capital and wisdom, and enhances the overall well-being of the region.

China-Southeast Asia railway cooperation has effectively enhanced connectivity capacity at the sub-regional, regional and global levels. At the sub-regional level, railway cooperation has boosted ASEAN's internal connectivity. For a long time, internal connectivity has been a shortcoming in ASEAN's community building. Railway cooperation between China and Southeast Asia is an important part of the regional railway network, which lowers the threshold of ASEAN's internal connectivity. At the regional level, railway cooperation has strengthened the material foundation of the China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

With the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement coming into force, economic integration between the two sides will continue to deepen, and cooperation on railways and other infrastructure will become a new growth point for cooperation. At the global level, railway cooperation is seeing the expansion of intercontinental connectivity between Asia and Europe. The China-Europe line, the new western land-sea corridor and the China-Laos Railway are connected for the first time, opening the intra-regional circulation and the great world circulation, which is conducive to the creation of a composite land and sea hub that is well-connected and deeply interlinked.

At present, China-Southeast Asia railway cooperation still faces many challenges. First of all, Southeast Asia is becoming the focus of infrastructure competition among major countries. The United States, India and Japan have successively put forward overseas infrastructure plans in a bid to check the Belt and Road Initiative. Negative factors such as the zero-sum and confrontational nature of great power competition may spill over into the infrastructure sector. Second, there is a risk of politicizing and securitizing railway cooperation. Railway and other infrastructure cooperation projects are easily labeled as "debt traps" and "environmental damage" and become the target of stigmatization and, in serious cases, may even trigger social opposition. In Southeast Asia, the intervention of external forces, domestic election cycles and social opinion can become disruptive factors in railway construction, increasing the uncertainty of cooperation between the two sides.

In this regard, China-Southeast Asia railway cooperation should be planned and focused to promote the optimization and upgrading of the cooperation mode. First, China and ASEAN should deepen the strategic docking and coordination of connectivity, and enhance the visibility and support of railway cooperation projects at the regional level. Second, they should explore a cooperation model that integrates multiple stakeholders and makes decision-making more efficient. Third, in promoting railway cooperation, both sides should pay attention to the follow-up of other supporting facilities and related industries, so as to enhance the positive role of railway infrastructure in economic development.

Wang Yinzhao is a doctoral candidate at the School of International Studies at Peking University. Zhai Kun is a professor at the School of International Studies and deputy director of the Institute of Area Studies at Peking University. The authors 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.