On the heels of President Xi Jinping's recent trips to Malaysia and Indonesia, Premier Li Keqiang is visiting Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam. The visits of the top two leaders to Southeast Asian countries in quick succession may mark the beginning of a new relationship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations based on economic pragmatism.

For some time now, territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China and some ASEAN member states have grabbed the headlines in Beijing's ties with a region with which its economic links have expanded rapidly. With the trade volume between China and ASEAN member states crossing $400 billion, China has become ASEAN's largest trade partner, while ASEAN is China's third largest. Investments and movement of people have also increased substantially between China and ASEAN over the last decade.

From left: Premier Li Keqiang, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah cut a cake to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, on Wednesday. [Photo/Agencies] 

The economic developments, however, have been somewhat overshadowed by tensions in the South China Sea. Analysts and experts have been highlighting the tensions between China and some ASEAN member states, and the division within ASEAN. Repeated attention has been drawn to the failure of ASEAN to agree on the language of a concluding Communiqu at the Foreign Ministers meeting in Cambodia in July 2012 over disagreements on addressing territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The division among ASEAN member states on China and the South China Sea disputes is bad news both for China and the US. For Beijing, it shows the lack of uniform strategic influence across the region. For Washington, ASEAN's failure to draft a common communiqu on the South China Sea reflects its diplomatic failure in galvanizing ASEAN as a united front against China's expanding influence.

Indeed, ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region have become the turf for US-China strategic competition since the US launched its "pivot to Asia" strategic policy. The most significant US initiative in establishing a deeper foothold in the region is the Trans-Pacific Partnership - a mega trade deal among 12 member states of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation from both sides of the Pacific that still excludes China.