Editor's note: Manisha Chakraborty is a freelance Indian journalist. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Since its establishment, the People's Republic of China has been sharing its economic prosperity and showing care for its close neighbors and those far afield, based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

The relationships between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries is a perfect example of good neighbors and good friends working to thrive together in a new era of globalization.

It is worth noting that since the founding of the ASEAN in 1967, China has departed from the Western donor-recipient style of engagement with Southeast Asian countries. With development at its core, China is winning over the hearts and minds of the population of an interconnected ASEAN region, reducing poverty, backwardness, underdevelopment and despondency.

Fifteen years ago on October 8, 2003, a new chapter began in the China-ASEAN relations with the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. Since then, ties between both sides have become among the most successful and dynamic ones in the region as a result of collective and enduring efforts to nurture mutual trust, deepen good-neighborly friendship, promote win-win cooperation and uphold regional peace and stability.

As an active player and advocate of regional cooperation in Asia, China has made important contribution to regional cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which seeks to establish an extended prosperous neighborhood under the template of building "a community with a shared future for mankind."

Undoubtedly, the ASEAN countries' active participation in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May 2017 showed that they extended their full support to the initiative in order to integrate as an economic community for the common benefit of ASEAN nations.

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, the China-Laos railway, and the China-Thailand high-speed railway are vibrant examples of China's efforts in building a community of shared future in the region. 

China has remained the largest trade partner for ASEAN, while ASEAN is China's third-largest trade partner. Two-way trade volume grew 10 times from 55.2 billion US dollars in 2003 to 514.8 billion US dollars in 2017.

Two-way cumulative direct investment has topped 200 billion US dollars, with 4,000 enterprises in ASEAN receiving direct Chinese investment and more than 300,000 locals being employed. This indicates that China-ASEAN relations have stabilized and improved, moving into the fast lane of development.

Against this background, at the invitation of Singapore's Prime Minister and the Chairman of ASEAN, Lee Hsien Loong, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended the 21st China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting, the 21st ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) leaders' meeting and the 13th East Asia Summit in Singapore. The ASEAN-hosted East Asia Summit on November 14-15 was also attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other prominent leaders.

India's relationship with ASEAN is a key pillar of its foreign policy and the foundation of "Act East Policy" in order to search for economic space in the Asia-Pacific region.

The upgrade of the relationship into a Strategic Partnership with ASEAN in 2012 was a natural progression since India became a Sectoral Partner of the ASEAN in 1992, Dialogue Partner in 1996 and Summit Level Partner in 2002. Furthermore, the leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries also graced the 69th Republic Day Parade as India's Guests of Honor this year.

Worth mentioning as well is that, concerned over the growing Chinese influence in Southeast Asia as well as India's neighborhood through the BRI connectivity project, the Indian government has increased its financial aid to ASEAN countries via the ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund, ASEAN-India S&T Development Fund (AISTDF), and ASEAN-India Green Fund among others.

However, in this age of multilateral alignment, India must keep in mind that the ASEAN region is not a place for leadership competition. India already stands alone for not having joined the BRI that has been welcomed by its neighbors. India should not forget that with trade with ASEAN at 76 billion US dollars, it ranks lower than not just the US and China, but also South Korea, Japan and Australia.

It's a fact that the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations (RCEP) launched in 2012 have held up, largely because of India's reluctance to open up its market.

As such, it's heartening to hear Premier Li saying, while delivering a speech at the 44th Singapore Lecture in Singapore on November 13, that "China expects the finalization of RCEP negotiations in 2019." Surely, in the context of rising protectionism, if the mega-trade pact gets finalized, it will be by far the largest economic integration agreement ever made, which can be considered a landmark in the history of ASEAN.

This year's EAS Summit is taking place at a very important juncture when the US and China, the world's two-largest economies, are entering a cold spell of trade war. As two big neighboring countries, India and China are now vital members of various international organizations and institutions and significant investors in almost all regions of the world.

It can be hoped that in the context of the current rising trends of protectionism, unilateralism, and anti-globalization taken by President Donald Trump and his allies, India and China could enhance pragmatic cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries, promoting peace and prosperity for ASEAN and the world.

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