Dr Jian Yang - Shanghai, September 2009
The Chinese involvement in the South Pacific has attracted much attention outside China. Chinese analysts, however, have shown little interest in this area. The conference hosted by the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) is therefore a milestone. It may mark the beginning of a surge of Chinese analysts’ attention to the South Pacific.
The SIIS is a premier think tank in China. According to my contacts in Shanghai, it is no longer administered by the Shanghai Municipality government. Instead, it now reports directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This may explain why a couple of officials from the Ministry were present at the conference.
The organiser of the conference made an effort to put Chinese involvement in the South Pacific in a positive context. The title of the conference is telling in this respect. There is no direct mentioning of Chinese involvement. Instead, it is implied in “regional cooperation” between East Asia and the South Pacific.
The connection between East Asia and the South Pacific at regional level is weak however. For that reason, the speakers in the first session on “East Asian regional cooperation and the South Pacific” mainly focused on the first part. Prof Zhang Yunling, who is from the China Academy of Social Sciences and is perhaps the leading academic on East Asian regionalism in China, pointed out that the current co-existence of various regional fora, such as APEC, ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3 and East Asia Summit (EAS), is likely to continue. Most speakers in the later sessions had similar views.
US possible admission into the EAS generated much interest at the conference. It was noted that the United States has changed its attitude towards the EAS and is preparing itself for its admission with its accession to ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. There was no consensus as to the likely reactions of China. While some argued that China would avoid being the lonely voice against US involvement, others expressed different views. In terms of the implications of US participation, Prof Zhang believes that the EAS is likely to be transformed from a forum for regional issues into one for broader strategic issues. Meanwhile, some pointed out that the expansion of the EAS might render it even less effective. Another topic of much interest was the concept of Asia Pacific community proposed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Australian speakers demonstrated some enthusiasm while others seemed rather sceptical.
Since there is little connection between East Asia and the South Pacific at regional level, much of the discussion in this area focused on China’s policy and involvement. The speakers from the South Pacific and New Zealand were largely positive on Chinese involvement. Different perspectives were presented on the issue of China coordinating its aid policy with other donors. Most speakers from New Zealand and Australia pointed out the necessity of such effort. Those with the South Pacific background emphasized that the South Pacific countries as recipients would like to have freedom of choice and should be involved in the coordination process.
According to Vice-President of the SIIS Prof Chen Dongxiao, the SIIS will send a delegation to the South Pacific next year and would like to organize similar conferences in the coming years. New Zealand should not be absent from such conferences.
