今年是中國與東盟建立對話夥伴關係25周年，近期李克強總理赴老撾出席第19屆中國與東盟領導人會議暨中國與東盟建立對話夥伴關係25周年紀念峰會，為中國與東盟關係發展勾畫新的藍圖。未來的中國與東盟將譜寫戰略夥伴關係的新篇章，雙方將努力構建政治安全合作新平台、培育經貿合作新動能、打造人文交流新支柱、共同開創區域合作新局面。

這是近年來中國與東盟在領導人會上首次成功避開被輿論熱炒的南海問題，就雙方未來關係發展達成重要共識。中國與東盟關係終於在歷經中菲黃岩島對峙、中越南海“981平台”糾紛、菲律賓南海仲裁案等波折後實現軟着陸，這是李克強總理此訪老撾的最主要成果。中國與東盟成功軟着陸，主要原因是雙方始終倡導和諧共贏，雙方關係進入了穩定的成熟期。

第一，中國與東盟倡導和弘揚“和合”理念，共促地區和諧。中國與東盟建立對話夥伴關係是冷戰之後的事。冷戰時期，由於東西兩大陣營對峙，中國與東盟及東南亞國家關係深受意識形態干擾。隨着冷戰進入尾聲，中國與東盟拉開了合作序幕。過去25年，中國和東盟將和平、包容、合作的文化融入到了雙方關係之中，並推廣至整個東亞地區。“以和為貴”、“和而不同”是中國文化的根本特徵和基本價值取向。而東盟始終強調以協商一致為核心的“東盟方式”，在和諧中求同存異。中國與東盟這種和諧、包容的文化精神高度契合，這使得雙方關係在過去25年中持續、穩定的發展。在此過程中，和諧、合作的理念也逐漸擴散至整個地區，取代了冷戰時期那種你死我活的零和思維，並成為東亞價值觀的核心理念之一。

第二，中國和東盟以全方位合作促進地區繁榮、互利共贏。中國是本地區的最大經濟體，而東盟則是本地區最重要的地區組織。冷戰時期，中國與東盟政治互信赤字、經貿與文化交流較弱、安全合作缺失。但冷戰結束後，中國與東盟不但結成對話夥伴，而且構建了政治、經濟、安全、人文領域的全方位合作框架。政治上，中國加入《東南亞友好合作條約》。雙方從敵對轉變為戰略夥伴關係，並建立了中國與東盟“10+1”領導人會議。經濟上，雙方完成了自貿區升級談判，創建瀾滄江-湄公河合作機制。25年來，雙方貿易額從80億美元增長到4722億美元，累計雙向投資超過1600億美元。安全上，中國第一個與東盟簽署《非傳統安全領域合作諒解備忘錄》，並通過了《落實〈諒解備忘錄〉的行動計劃》的對話夥伴。雙方在執法合作、海上安全、打擊跨國犯罪、反恐等諸多領域全面開展合作。人文領域，中國第一個與東盟簽署文化合作協定，建立“中國-東盟文化部長會議”，中國與東盟教育周、中國-東南亞民間高端對話會等機制已成為人文交流的標誌性項目。在中國與東盟的努力下，“區域全面經濟夥伴關係”（RCEP）即將簽署，這是迄今為止東亞地區最為重要的經濟合作機制，而瀾滄江湄公河合作將為大湄公河地區發展作出重要貢獻。中國與東盟支持彼此在地區合作中的地位，這使以東盟+1為基礎、以東盟+3為主渠道的東亞合作有序推進。

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第三，中國與東盟共享合作安全，共同維護地區穩定。近年來，西方國家不斷炒作、干涉南海爭端，將中國與東盟推向風口浪尖。然而，自冷戰結束以來，尤其是1997年亞洲金融危機以後，南海地區總體維持了和平、穩定的局面。中國與東南亞國家雖在南海問題上有利益分歧，但雙方展開了有效的磋商和溝通，簽署了《南海各方行為宣言》（DOC）、應對海上緊急事態外交高官熱線平台指導方針；發表有關南海問題的聯合宣言以及在南海適用《海上意外相遇規則》的聯合聲明。同時，雙方也在積極推進南海地區行為準則（COC）磋商。中國堅持以“雙軌思路”解決南海爭端的主張獲得東盟國家認同。雙方對共同維護南海和平、穩定，共同管控南海局勢有重要共識。南海沖裁案後，菲律賓開始通過雙邊渠道與中國接觸，東盟峰會也低調處理南海問題。所謂中國拆散東盟、中國要在南海稱霸的言論不攻自破。中國與東盟及東亞南海爭端國通過合作安全模式，共同維護南海和平，這是中國與東盟對東亞地區的最大貢獻。

This year marks the 25th anniversary of China becoming ASEAN's full dialogue partner. Recently Premier Li Keqiang went to Laos for the 19th China-ASEAN (10+1) Summit to commemorate that anniversary, eager to draw a new blueprint for the future of China-ASEAN relations. The two sides will develop the partnership, build a new platform for cooperation in political security, cultivate new growth impetus for economic and trade cooperation, and forge a new pillar of people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation.

This is the first time in recent years for China and ASEAN to successfully avoid the hyped-up South China Sea issue and reach a common understanding on the future of their relations at the leaders' meeting. The China-ASEAN relationship finally achieved a soft landing after such setbacks as the Sino-Philippine standoff at Huangyan Island, Sino-Vietnamese dispute over oil rig HYSY-981 and the South China Sea arbitration case filed by the Philippines. This is the primary achievement of the premier's visit to Laos. The two sides have always championed harmony and win-win, and the successful meeting reflects that their relationship is in a mature stage of stability.

The China-ASEAN dialogue partnership started after the end of the Cold War. During the Cold War, due to confrontation between East and West, China's relations with ASEAN and Southeast Asian countries were frustrated by ideologies. In the past 25 years, the two sides have brought the culture of peace, tolerance and cooperation into their relationship and extended it to all of East Asia. 'Valuing harmony as the most precious' and 'seeking harmony but not uniformity' are the fundamental features and values of the Chinese culture. ASEAN has always stressed the consensus-based ASEAN Way, which pursues common ground and preserves differences in harmony. The two sides' parallel cultural spirits has led to sustained and expanding bilateral relations. In the process, the philosophy of harmony and cooperation has gradually spread to the whole region, replacing the zero-sum mentality of life or death during the Cold War and becoming a core concept within East Asian values.

China and ASEAN together promote regional prosperity, mutual benefit and win-win through all-round cooperation. China is the largest economy in this region and ASEAN is the most important regional organization. During the Cold War, the two sides had a deficit in political trust, weak economic and cultural exchanges and no security cooperation. Today, China and ASEAN are dialogue partners with a comprehensive cooperation framework covering political, economic, security and cultural fields. Politically, China joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. Relations between the two sides turned from hostility to strategic partnership, and the 10+1 leaders meeting was established. Economically, the two sides have negotiated an upgrading of the China-ASEAN FTA and developed the Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation Mechanism. In the past 25 years, two-way trade volume increased from $8 billion to $472.2 billion and accumulated two-way investment was over $160 billion. In the security field, China was the first dialogue partner of ASEAN to sign a memorandum of understanding on non-traditional security cooperation and adopt an action plan to implement the MOU. The two sides have developed comprehensive cooperation in law enforcement, maritime security, combating cross-boundary crimes and counterterrorism. In the field of people-to-people exchanges, China was the first to sign a cultural cooperation agreement with ASEAN and has developed some landmark projects and mechanisms including the China-ASEAN Cultural Ministers' Meeting, China-ASEAN Education Week and China-Southeast Asia High-Level People-to-People Dialogue. Parties will soon sign the agreement of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is up to now the most important economic cooperation initiative in East Asia. The Lancang-Mekong River cooperation will boost the development of the greater Mekong River region. China and ASEAN support each other's positions in regional cooperation, which underpins the orderly progress of East Asian cooperation based on ASEAN+1 and through ASEAN +3.

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Finally, China and ASEAN enjoy cooperative security and jointly maintain regional stability. In recent years, Western countries have hyped up and interfered in South China Sea disputes, putting China and ASEAN in the teeth of the storm. Nonetheless, since the end of the Cold War, and during the 1997 Asian financial crisis in particular, the South China Sea region has been peaceful and stable on the whole. Even though China and Southeast Asian countries have different interests, the two sides have had effective consultation and communication, signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and guidelines for a hotline between senior diplomats during maritime emergencies, and issued a joint statement on South China Sea and one on applying rules of accidental encounter at sea in the South China Sea. The two sides are also actively advancing consultation on a code of conduct in the South China Sea. The Chinese position of resolving disputes with a dual-track approach has been accepted by ASEAN countries. The two sides have important common understanding on jointly maintaining peace and stability and in the South China Sea. Since the arbitration, the Philippines has started to contact China through bilateral channels and the ASEAN Summit handled the South China Sea issue in a very low-key manner. Notions that China is trying to split ASEAN and that China is seeking hegemony in the South China Sea have collapsed. Jointly maintaining peace by way of cooperative security is the largest contribution of China and ASEAN to this region.