Yunnan and Mainland Southeast Asia: Changing Contours of Relationship

Given the changing geopolitical equations, China’s role has evolved from a regional to a significant global player. The gradual expansion of the China-dominated regional value chain to other countries, most notably Southeast Asia, has led to a shift in intra-regional investments, trade, and production networks. Southeast Asia as a region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a regional organization have become increasingly significant in the global landscape. The region is not only strategically located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific, straddling two of the most dynamic oceanic spaces—the West Pacific and the Indian Ocean—but also one of the most vibrant economically. Since 2019, China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner, and in 2020, ASEAN surpassed the European Union to become China's largest trading partner. Considering Southeast Asia’s geostrategic and growing economic significance, how has the central government given a major push to develop an infrastructure network connecting China to Southeast Asia through Yunnan? What have been the provincial policy initiatives for different connectivity projects between Yunnan and different countries in Southeast Asia? How does it reconfigure China’s foreign policy behaviour towards the world outside?