Research On The Trust Of China-ASEAN Regional Cooperation In Attribution Theory Perspective

I follow the discourse logic is that in regional cooperation“what isthe trust-how to generate-which type-how to change-how to consolidate”.Specifically, the focus of my article is the existence of trust, after the Cold War inChina-ASEAN regional cooperation? How trust generate in the cooperationbetween the two sides? What type of trust they formed in different areas? extent?With the further deepening of cooperation, how the trust change and consolidate?In this paper, I analyse the development of trusting relationship in regionalcooperation between the two sides. The regional cooperation between China andASEAN has experienced suspicion, hostility, distrust during the Cold War;contacts, dialogues, tools, trust in the post-Cold War; substantive stage, butgrowing deepened from the beginning of the1997Asian financial crisis. Duringthis period, the two sides to make up the crisis of confidence caused by theMischief Reef incident, and the level of confidence enhance with establishment ofthe Free Trade Area in2001, and China and ASEAN build the identity trustbefore the outbreak of the global financial crisis in2008; However, the globalfinancial crisis has exposed the vulnerability of the China-ASEAN relations, so thetwo sides faced a new crisis of confidence. These events such as the South ChinaSea dispute worsening, Huangyan Island confrontation and the United Statesreturn to Southeast Asia prove the improvement of the trust level between Chinaand ASEAN.This paper argues that, after20years of contacts, the trust between China andASEAN is still an “identity trust”, which is in the transition phase from the“instrumental trust” to “emotional trust” in the continuum and which level is stilllow. Therefore, in the current and future even quite a long time, in China andASEAN countries regional cooperation there will still be many contradictions andmutual suspicion. On the basis of this analysis, the paper propose four points thatfocus on the “shared interests” and promote the deepening and upgrading ofconfidence in China-ASEAN regional cooperation: First,build and expand“shared interests”; Second, cultivate ingroup identity and promote emotional regional cooperation; Third, maintain the “driver” status of the ASEAN; Finally,handle properly the “American factors”.