Economic Interdependence,State-Building And International Trust:the Origin Of Southeast Asian Countries' China Policy In The Post-Cold War Era

State behavior is influenced by the rational choice,cognitive mode and emotional fluctuation of domestic actors who dominate the foreign policy process,as well as the structures of power,institutions and culture at the systemic level and domestic level.International trust is a result of long-term inter-state interaction and a cause of regenerate of state behavior.Therefore,the factors affecting the generation of state behavior are also the factors that affect the level of international trust.State behaviors includes two basic elements,the strategic purpose and the means by which the State takes to achieve its strategic purpose.In the process of responding to the behaviors of other states and even the changes of the system,the purpose and means may have the same nature or may have different nature.In the simplified cross-level theoretical model that explains the generation of state behavior,economic interdependence is the core variable at the system level,but its impact on state behavior is subject to the overall power gap between countries,the overall competitive pressure in the international system,and the history records of other states,behavior.State-building is the core variable at the domestic level.State autonomy and political legitimacy are the two key indicators for assessing the performance of state-building.State autonomy and political legitimacy lead to the differentiation of foreign policy under the similar systemic pressures,namely external threats and opportunities for international cooperation.Since the 1980s,China's economic diplomacy has strengthened the economic dependence of Southeast Asian countries on China,and thus strengthened their motivation for adopting cooperative China policies.But this motivation is rooted in the need for promoting performance legitimacy.At the same time,some factors,including the huge overall power gap,the asymmetry of economic interdependence on China,the uncertainty of China's future foreign strategic behavior,the historical memory of the tributary system and China's export of revolution,and the intensification of Sino-US competition,has limited or weakened the the effectiveness of economic interdependence in inducing Southeast Asian countries to adopt cooperative China policy,thereby increasing the confrontational component of Southeast Asian countries'China policy.However,the strength and trends of national autonomy and political legitimacy in Southeast Asian countries are different.Therefore,even under similar system pressures,Southeast Asian countries have different China policies.That is to say,the ratio of confrontational and cooperative components in Southeast Asian countries' China policies is different.