China's Economic Diplomacy Towards Mekong Countries(1992-2016)

A dual set of driving forces,including regional economic integration and the need for development in itself had facilitated China to pursue active diplomacy in regional and sub-regional spheres during the early 1990 s.A particularly prominent part of this effort,as well as a great success,has been economic diplomacy developed in Mekong countries,which significantly contributed to the establishment of diplomatic relations with these countries and the stability of the peripheral environment.However,these developments are also confronted with a variety of challenges,including how to drive such implementations into deeper levels,generate greater effects and cope with competitions from extra-regional powers,and reinforce the foundations laid out in the peripheral areas.More importantly,apart from all being developing countries,the Mekong five countries also constitute key areas and crucial countries en route towards the fulfillment of China's neighborhood diplomatic strategies and the Belt and Road initiative.In the context of the all-round diplomatic layouts adopted by China for the new era which emphasizes the primacy of peripherality and the fundamentality of being developing countries,enhancing studies on the economic diplomacy with these countries has gained more theoretical and realistic significance.Therefore,it is imperative that a comprehensive and systematic analysis of China's economic diplomacy with Mekong countries is performed to provide greater clarity in understanding the core issues of interstate relations between China and Mekong countries,as well as an accurate and proper assessment of the future developments and intensification of such relations.This paper is comprised of five chapters.In Chapter One,China's economic diplomacy and its underpinning theoretic foundations are briefly discussed in order to provide clearer general insights into the objectives,ideas,development and employment of this diplomacy,prevent the deviation of studies on economic diplomacy with Mekong countries from the overallity of such diplomay,and complement and promote the implementations of the overall economic diplomacy.In chapter two,with the multilateral regional economic cooperation as an entry point,a multi-tiered,comprehensive and systematic presentation of the overall development course,as well as the features and highlights,of China's economic diplomacy with Mekong countries is provided from perspectives of diplomatic domains in trade,investment,finance and energy;a theoretical tool emphasizing economic interdependency is employed to demonstrate that economic diplomacy can indeed strengthen economic interdependency between China and Mekong five countries,which is mainly reflected in these countries' disproportionate dependency on the Chinese economy.These findings serve as an important contribution to establishing and promoting friendship between China and these countries.In Chapter Three,a bilateral economic perspective is employed to summarize and analyze the objectives,strategies,characteristics and achievements of China's economic diplomacy with Thailand,Vietnam,Laos,Myanmar and Cambodia,coupled with suggestions for the priorities and directions for economic diplomacy with the five countries.In Chapter Four,the fact that the problems and challenges that China is faced with in implementing multilateral and bilateral economic diplomacy Mekong countries,main originating from serious trade deficits,the politicalization trend of economic diplomacy,competitions from extra-regional powers,and the overlaying effect of multiple mechanisms,is articulated.In Chapter Five,strategic conceptions and implementing methods about carrying out and deepening the economic diplomacy with Mekong countries are proposed based on the study mentioned above,followed by conclusion to this study.