MGR Online / Maneenart Onphanna: How does China manage its relations with neighboring countries in the era of Xi Jinping, as China expands its influence in both security and economic interests?
China's leaders across different eras have adjusted their strategic relationships with various countries. Relations with the United States are considered the most important, while neighboring countries constitute the second most important strategic priority — particularly under President Xi Jinping, who uses the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as the cornerstone of China's neighborhood diplomacy strategy.
Professor Dr. Ji Xianbai, Director of the Institute of South Asian and Southeast Asian Studies at Renmin University, noted that China's foreign policy toward neighboring countries has evolved since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 through to the era of President Xi Jinping, and pointed out that "neighboring countries" represent the most important strategic priority after the United States.
From "ideology" to "coexistence": In the founding period of the state under the leadership of Mao Zedong, China's foreign policy focused on preserving state security, supporting the Soviet Union, and assisting communist movements in various countries, including participation in the Korean War to create a "security buffer."
Subsequently, China proposed the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence," namely: mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence — principles that later became a cornerstone of China's foreign policy.
During Deng Xiaoping's era of reform and opening up, China's policy toward neighboring countries shifted from being ideology-driven to building a peaceful and stable environment so that China could focus fully on economic development. Deng Xiaoping put forward the concept of "shelving disputes and pursuing joint development," particularly regarding the South China Sea and disputes with neighboring countries, building trust and cooperation with ASEAN.
In the era of Jiang Zemin, China continued adjusting its relations with neighboring countries by resolving border disputes with Russia, restoring relations with India, and building cooperation with ASEAN. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 marked a significant turning point when many countries had to rely on the IMF, prompting nations across the region to begin establishing their own financial cooperation mechanisms — such as ASEAN+3 — to assist one another in times of crisis.
Xi Jinping and the Belt and Road Initiative: After Xi Jinping rose to lead China, the "Belt and Road" strategy — or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — paved the way for China to play a role in infrastructure, trade, and economic relations between China and its neighbors through investments in railways, roads, ports, oil pipelines, industrial zones, and logistics systems. This represented an advance into the surrounding neighboring countries on a scale China had never undertaken before.
China's leadership declared that the prosperity of neighboring countries would directly benefit China, because if surrounding countries have stability and growing economies, China too will enjoy an environment conducive to development.
Thereafter, Xi Jinping took another major step by proposing the concept of a "Community with a Shared Future," which encompasses "Common Security." China stated that its concept emphasizes building security through dialogue, cooperation, and joint development, rather than relying on military alliances or deterrence by force.
However, when confronted with security disputes — such as the South China Sea issue — China has instead adopted an assertive stance and shown no sign of backing down, including declaring the "nine-dash line" map, reclaiming land to expand territory, dispatching coast guard units on patrol, and refusing to accept the ruling of the international court, which adjudicated that China's claims have no legal basis.
Negotiations between China and ASEAN over the South China Sea have made no progress for more than 20 years. All that exists is the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which carries no legally binding force.
"Debt trap" — when neighbors become "creditors"
Under the BRI strategy, China has invested heavily in neighboring countries such as Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Pakistan, raising questions about what benefits these countries will actually receive.
Scholars from Renmin University noted that the objectives of BRI investment are not limited to building infrastructure; they also aim to address "bottlenecks" in transportation and logistics that currently pose major obstacles to international trade. The China–Laos Railway project, for example, helps reduce transportation costs, links the economies of both countries, and makes the movement of goods, capital, and labor more efficient.
China has been criticized on the grounds that its investment leads to a "debt trap" — that is, China deliberately extends loans to leave neighboring countries drowning in debt, before using that debt as a tool to claim rights over land or strategically important assets.
However, the Chinese side has stated that throughout more than 10 years of the BRI, there has been no proven case of China using debt as a tool to seize the territory or assets of a contracting country. Scholars acknowledge that Chinese companies — especially state-owned enterprises — hold strong bargaining power in conducting business abroad, but that this is not the policy of the Chinese government to create a "debt trap."
In the era of Xi Jinping, China has clearly expanded its relations with neighboring nations. China's advance began with investment and trade, then extended into the dimensions of security and geopolitics, raising concerns among various countries about the transparency and sustainability of the investments, as well as the expansion of Chinese influence — to the point where comparisons have been drawn suggesting that many countries have become, in effect, a "province" of China.
China needs to build confidence among neighboring countries that its strategy — one that integrates diplomacy, economics, development, and regional cooperation — genuinely aims to serve the development of both China and its neighbors, constituting true "shared prosperity."
