By Xu Liping

许利平

Some western media have blatantly ramped up the political propaganda about Cambodia’s so-called “choosing China over the US” because Cambodia accepted Chinese assistance in infrastructure construction. In a firm response to this, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen asked who else, is willing to help Cambodia develop infrastructure, except China? China has been providing assistance to Southeast Asian countries for many years, and the western media are downright smearing both the helper and the recipients by equating “China’s assistance to Southeast Asia” with “choosing China over the US”.

围绕中国援助柬埔寨基础设施建设，一些西方媒体大肆进行所谓柬埔寨“弃美选中”的政治宣传。对此，柬埔寨首相洪森日前坚定回应：除了中国，还有哪些国家愿意帮柬埔寨发展基建呢？其实，中国援助东南亚由来已久，而一些西媒把“中国对东南亚的援助”与“弃美选中”画等号，实乃赤裸裸的抹黑。

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the country has been aiding Southeast Asian countries in various forms, which has gone through three important stages. In the first stage, before China launched the reform and opening-up, it mainly provided strategic assistance along with aid in other forms to ensure the security of the socialist camp. In the second stage, which lasted from the beginning of the reform and opening-up to the late 20th century, China mainly provided humanitarian and development aid to Southeast Asia, with strategic assistance accounting for a smaller share. In the third stage, which is since the beginning of the 21st century, China mainly provided development aid to Southeast Asia, along with humanitarian aid and a small part of strategic assistance.

自新中国成立以来，中国就开始对东南亚开展各种形式的援助，大致经历了三个重要阶段。第一阶段为改革开放以前，中国对东南亚的援助以战略性援助为主，兼顾其他形式援助，主要为保障社会主义阵营的安全。第二阶段为改革开放到20世纪末，中国对东南亚的援助以人道主义援助和发展性援助为主，战略性援助大为减少。第三阶段为进入21世纪至今，中国对东南亚的援助以发展性援助为主，兼顾人道主义援助，战略性援助较少。

In all three stages, China’s assistance to Southeast Asia has been based on and intended to improve bilateral relations without targeting any third party, let alone a specific major country. Even during the Cold War, the assistance was mostly institutional arrangements that were defensive in nature. Never was such assistance intended to disrupt a specific major country’s strategic deployments in the Southeast Asian region.

上述三个阶段中国对东南亚的援助从中国与东南亚双边关系出发，不针对第三方，更不会针对某个特定大国。即使在冷战时期，中国对东南亚的援助也更多是防御性制度安排，并没刻意去主动突破某个大国在东南亚的战略布局。

China’s current assistance to Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, is concentrated on infrastructure and therefore falls under the category of development aid. The main reason is that those countries are unable to raise the money needed to build infrastructure that usually involves long-term investment and slow payback but is at the same time fundamentally important for the industrialization of developing countries in the region. Once in place, the infrastructure will give a strong boost to the interconnectivity among local countries as well as that between them and China, bringing benefits to both sides by facilitating their trade and free and convenient investment.

现阶段中国对包括柬埔寨在内东南亚国家的援助，在基础设施领域倾斜较多，属于发展性援助。主要原因在于基础设施投资周期长、见效慢，东南亚部分国家难以筹措资金进行建设，但基础设施对东南亚发展中国家的工业化又具有根本性推动作用。一旦这些基础设施建成，将大大提升当地国家的互联互通，同时也有助于加速中国与东南亚国家的互联互通，促进中国和东南亚的贸易、投资自由化和便利化，对双方都是利好。

As a matter of fact, countries like the US and Japan began conducting aid programs in Southeast Asia long ago. After WWII, the Eisenhower administration developed a special assistance program for Southeast Asia; during the Cold War, Washington obviously took assistance as an important economic means to secure the support of Southeast Asian countries. Recently, the US claimed to increase its aid to the region, an undisguised attempt to curb China. In Mid-September this year, US Secretary of State Pompeo announced to kick off the Mekong-U.S. partnership, pledging American assistance and investment to the Mekong River region while accusing China of destroying the environment there.

事实上，美日等国早就在东南亚开始布局援助项目。二战后，美国艾森豪威尔政府就制定了对东南亚的专门援助计划，冷战时期，美国显然把援助当作争取东南亚国家的重要经济手段。最近，美国又声称要加大对东南亚的援助力度，对抗中国意味明显。9月中旬，美国国务卿蓬佩奥宣布启动湄公河-美国伙伴关系，承诺美国对湄公河地区的援助和投资，并指责中国破坏湄公河的环境。

On the surface, Japan’s assistance to Southeast Asia doesn’t directly target China, but it essentially serves to achieve the strategic goals of the US-Japan alliance.

表面上，日本对东南亚的援助没有直接对抗中国，但本质上服务于美日同盟的战略目标。

Indeed, the less developed regions in Southeast Asia are in urgent need of international assistance and cooperation. Being the victims of western invasion and aggression in history, they suffer deeply from the damages of war, such as left-behind land mines and soil and people affected by defoliant pollution. They don’t want to pick sides between Beijing and Washington, all they yearn for is assistance and development, nothing else. The hyping of China-US confrontation and the “China penetration” theory by some western media is no good for the peace and development in Southeast Asia.

客观上，东南亚一些欠发达地区迫切需要国际社会的援助与合作。这些地区在历史上曾经遭受西方侵略，留下了许多战争创伤，比如残留的地雷、遭受落叶剂污染的土壤和人群等。这些国家不愿在中美之间选边站，它们渴望援助与发展，而非其他。部分西方媒体不断鼓噪中美对抗和“中国渗透”论等，都不利于东南亚地区和平与发展。

China and Southeast Asian countries share a history for more than 2,000 years of friendly exchanges, and some of them are among the first to have established diplomatic ties with the PRC. At present, bilateral relations have entered a period of upgrade and quality improvement, with the foundation for bilateral cooperation being increasingly consolidated. Those who hold the petty view that China provides assistance to Southeast Asian countries to get them to “choose China over the US” has underestimated China’s broad mind and wisdom as an eastern major country.

总之，中国与东南亚国家有着2000多年友好交往的历史，部分东南亚国家又是与新中国建立外交关系最早的国家之一，目前中国与东南亚关系进入提质升级阶段，双方合作基础日益牢固。那种认为中国对东南亚援助是为了使东南亚国家“弃美选中”的观点，未免太低估了中国的大国胸怀和东方智慧。

(The author is a research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy and director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者是中国社科院亚太与全球战略研究院研究员、东南亚研究中心主任）