Deepening the digital bond: The strengthening China-ASEAN partnership

This photo taken on Sept. 20, 2025 shows a booth displaying new energy vehicle produced in Liuzhou during the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]

Beijing's relationship with ASEAN member states received a significant boost at the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning. The 2025 expo highlighted new opportunities to leverage strong connectivity, collaborative infrastructure projects, and adoption of "smart" technologies. Shared goals focused on narrowing digital divides, enhancing data exchange, accelerating trade, and implementing transnational digital services. These developments suggest that the agreements reached at the expo will strengthen trade relations and deepen future cooperation between Beijing and ASEAN countries.

The historical relationship between China and ASEAN is grounded in mutual respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty and economic cooperation, which provides a strong foundation for enhancing future collaboration. The recent unveiling of over 1,200 advanced exhibits – including intelligent robots and digital service platforms — demonstrates a concerted effort to ensure that physical infrastructure on both sides supports and complements technological innovation. These exhibits build on existing developments, such as China's construction of more than 30 trans-border terrestrial optical cables connecting various ASEAN markets, from emerging economies like Vietnam to sophisticated trade hubs such as Singapore. Additionally, both sides are focused on expanding 5G internet connectivity, developing more data centers, and advancing cloud computing, further strengthening their shared goals and cooperation.

The China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement has been upgraded to FTA 3.0, expanding cooperation in digital economy, green development, and supply chain resilience. This update helps ASEAN countries, especially lower-income ones like Laos and Cambodia, shield against global disruptions such as U.S. trade tariffs that hurt regional markets and economies. The agreement also improves market access and transport efficiency, exemplified by innovations like the "Rokid" AI translation glasses introduced at the 2025 expo. Strengthening supply chains is crucial amid global volatility, ensuring free flow of key materials and enabling ASEAN to diversify exports and respond quickly to crises. Closer ties with China support building more robust, resilient economies across the region.

AI orientation extends far beyond simply streamlining the transportation of goods across borders only. At the 2025 expo, 155 projects were signed, covering diverse sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing. These initiatives address the varied domestic needs of both lower-income agrarian countries and more technologically advanced, higher-income states within the bloc. Notably, the cooperation has resulted in the establishment of over 25 AI application scenarios, in line with the latest assessments from the World Trade Organization's World Trade Report of 2025, which highlights AI's potential to boost global trade by 34%-37% and increase GDP by 13%.

Additionally, a meta-analysis from Cornell University shows that AI adoption enhances trade in Southeast Asia, especially under the supportive regulations and investment friendly domestic ecosystems.

This progress hinges on closing digital infrastructure gaps, achievable through the implementation of 23 large-scale AI application scenarios and seven action plans agreed upon by China and ASEAN at the expo. Both parties prioritize investments in digital economy and e-commerce, with cooperation commitments worth 75 million yuan emphasizing their shared dedication to shrinking these gaps. Encouragingly, 2025 saw more than a 50% increase in high-tech exhibits across all China-ASEAN Expos, alongside an 8.6% year-on-year trade growth between the two sides from January to August.

The push for improved infrastructure is further supported by proposals from expo participants to establish a ministerial coordination framework on AI, enabling real-time monitoring of progress at the official level. This initiative promotes greater technological cooperation, aligning with China's vision of responsible governance in ASEAN and beyond. Moreover, ASEAN's ongoing negotiations on a Digital Economy Framework parallel Beijing's own digitalization efforts.

Capacity building in technology is crucial for both sides to reach their full potential. This is demonstrated through joint agreements to invest in research and development and to establish centers in robotics and quantum computing. For instance, the China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Collaborative Innovation Center in Nanning has signed 16 contracts with firms in the bloc. Bilateral partnerships, such as between China's IT innovation group and Malaysia's MY E.G. digital services firm focusing on robotics and blockchain, aim to deliver significant benefits that could be a model for cooperation with other countries. Critically, this collaboration builds the human capital necessary for ASEAN nations to absorb and adapt technology, thereby cultivating indigenous capacity and reducing reliance on external solutions — a vital step toward long-term economic resilience.

These factors highlight a clear path forward: China-ASEAN cooperation is set to deepen, with technological progress showcased at the 2025 expo driving this partnership's growth.

Hannan Hussain is co-founder and senior expert at Initiate Futures, an Islamabad-based policy think tank.