Poverty is one of the most serious challenges facing the world today. The elimination of poverty concerns not only the most fundamental rights of subsistence and development of peoples of the world, but also the sustainable development of human society. As Asia's largest developing country and the largest organization of regional cooperation respectively, China and ASEAN are faced with the daunting task of poverty reduction, therefore, it is the common demand of the both sides to cooperate on poverty reduction. Due to differences in population and level of development, the poor people of ASEAN countries mainly locate in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. The cooperation on poverty reduction between China and ASEAN is primarily carried out in these countries.

Since the new century, the bilateral cooperation between China and ASEAN countries on poverty reduction has been focusing on information sharing and experience exchanges of poverty reduction policies as well as the provision of equipment and technical assistance by China to the ASEAN countries; at the multilateral level, the bilateral cooperation is mainly reflected in holding workshops, seminars and setting up poverty reduction cooperation funds. Among them, ASEAN-China Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction, ASEAN + 3 Village Leaders Exchange Program and the PRC Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund (PRCF) have great influences. After years of efforts, the building of China-ASEAN mechanisms for cooperation on poverty reduction is increasingly maturing, the scope of cooperation is expanding, capital investment continues to increase, mutual consensus on poverty reduction further increases, and continuous innovations are made in improving the model of cooperation .

China-ASEAN cooperation on poverty reduction is conducive to helping the people of target countries improve their living conditions, enhance the countries' capacity building of poverty reduction, partially alleviate local social problems, and deepen sub-regional cooperation, so as to strengthen the basis of relationship between China and poor ASEAN countries. At the same time, there are also shortcomings in China-ASEAN poverty reduction cooperation, such as a lack of overall strategic planning and systematic policy, direct partner of foreign aid mainly confined to the governments of target countries, insufficient attention to poverty reduction and other livelihood projects and low participation of enterprises and social organizations.

At present, with increasing uncertainties and instabilities of China's surrounding environment, the relationship between China and some ASEAN countries is confronted with provocation of external powers and interference of disputes on territorial sovereignty, leading to slight decline of political trust. To safeguard China's interests and influences in its surrounding area, it is necessary for poverty reduction cooperation to play a role in diplomacy with neighboring countries to consolidate and expand China's dominant position and voice in neighboring affairs, making it a testing ground for implementing new ideas of neighborhood diplomacy and an important means to cope with the changing situations in the diplomacy. To this end, we should strengthen top-level design, look at the role of cooperation on poverty reduction in diplomacy with neighboring countries from a strategic perspective, and improve the development of institutional mechanisms. We should incorporate poverty reduction cooperation into the implementation of "One Belt One Road" initiative, build China-ASEAN integrated platform for education and training on poverty reduction, enable enterprises and social forces to play a positive role in poverty reduction cooperation, give full play to the effect of China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in poverty reduction, encourage and guide various existing cooperation funds to flow to the field of poverty reduction, maintain continued emphasis on agriculture cooperation on poverty reduction, and increase public diplomacy efforts in poverty reduction cooperation.

II. The Status Quo of China-ASEAN Poverty Reduction Cooperation

(A)Poverty situation of ASEAN countries

Ten ASEAN countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar) cover a total land area of about 4.5 million square kilometers, with a population of about 618 million (2014), and a GNP of about $2 trillion (2013). [1]The ASEAN countries have different national conditions and different levels of development.

First, the level of economic development among ASEAN countries is extremely uneven. Thanks to its high level of economic development, Singapore's per capita GDP have been ranked among developed countries. Benefiting from abundant energy resources, Brunei has been experiencing rapid economic development in recent years.

In Malaysia, the per capita GDP ranks third, but compared with Singapore and Brunei, there is still a huge gap. In the other seven countries, per capita GDP is generally low (see Figure 1), and development of internal regions is often unbalanced, so it is a daunting task to promote economic development and improve people's living standard. [2]Among these countries, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia are countries with relatively backward economic development in the region, and also the main targets of ASEAN to carry out poverty alleviation.

[1] The Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN, Baidu Encyclopedia,

http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=33f1sZAi7gkwSa1hfU5kNjFNPi5fXsh-qiyuFPRl8WRpdIDqJnNf0-EwmXRShlxXrHowkG6xWzIuK127UXkW3K. (Login Time: June 1, 2015)

[2] Public Outreach and Civil Society Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, “ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013,” Chapter IV, MACRO ECONOMY, Table IV.3, p.40.

Figure1. Per Capita GDP of Ten ASEAN Countries

Source: ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013[1]

Figure2. Proportion of three Major Industries of Ten ASEAN Countries in GDP in 2012

Source: ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013[2]

[1] Ibid.

[2] Ibid., Table IV.5, pp.42-43.

Second, agricultural underdevelopment and high rural poverty rate is one of the important features of some ASEAN countries. In countries with relatively high level of economic development, such as Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia, the agricultural sector accounts for a low proportion in GDP; while in countries with relatively low level of economic development, such as Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, the proportion of the agriculture sector is high in GDP, which is about 30 percent (see Figure 2). In general, peasants, who are often the subject of poverty in a country, have high probability of occurrence of poverty. In face of natural disasters or life changes, their economic affordability tends to be weak.

Third, there are a lot of poor people in ASEAN countries. As seen from Table 1, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Philippines, with higher incidence of poverty which is about 25 percent, are poverty-prone countries. According to the poverty line of $ 2 a day on average, the incomes of 66 percent of the Laotians and of over 40 percent of the population in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam are below the poverty line. According to the poverty line of $ 1.25 a day on average, there are about 30 percent of the population living below the poverty line in Cambodia, Laos and Philippines, and Indonesia has 16 percent of its population living below the poverty line. Thus, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar are all faced with serious poverty issues.

Table1: Proportion of Poor People in Ten ASEAN Countries in 2012

Country	Below the Poverty Line of $ 1.25	Below the Poverty Line of $ 2	Poverty Incidence
Brunei	—	—	—
Cambodia	28	49.5（2209）	26.1（2009）
Indonesia	16	43.3（2011）	12.0（2012）
Laos	31	66.0（2008）	24.0（2010）
Malaysia	—	2.3（2009）	3.8（2010）
Myanmar	—	—	23.6（2011）
Philippines	23	41.6（2009）	25.2（2012）
Singapore	—	—	—
Thailand	0.04	4.1（2010）	9.0（2008）
Vietnam	14	43.3（2008）	11.1（2012）

Source: ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013[1]

[1] Public Outreach and Civil Society Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, “ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013,” Chapter XI,OTHER SOCIAL SECTORS, Table XI.3, p.218.

Fourth, ASEAN countries have a general phenomenon of national income imbalance (see Table 2). In general, 0.4 is considered as the warning line of Gini coefficient[2]. The Gini coefficient of most ASEAN countries is over 0.4, for example, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam in the majority of the years. Therefore, to narrow the gap between the rich and poor is the top priority in the cause of poverty reduction in ASEAN countries.

[2] The Gini coefficient is an indicator commonly used to measure the income gap among residents, of which the value is between 0 and 1. The larger the Gini coefficient is, the bigger of the income gap will be. According to the general international standards, the Gini coefficient above 0.4 indicates a large income gap, that is, 0.4 is the internationally recognized warning line.

Table2: Gini Coefficient of Ten ASEAN Countries in 1990 - 2011

Country	1990	2000	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Brunei	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cambodia	0.380 (1994)	0.351 (1999)	0.419	—	0.444	0.379	—	—	—
Indonesia	0.320	0.310 (1999)	0.343	0.357	0.360	0.350	0.370	0.380	0.410
Laos	—	—	—	0.354	—	0.367	—	—	—
Malaysia	0.442	0.443 (1999)	0.379	—	0.441	—	0.462	—	—
Myanmar	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Philippines	0.468 (1991)	0.488	0.440	0.458	—	—	0.464	—	—
Singapore	—	—	—	—	0.482	0.474	0.471	0.472	0.473
Thailand	0.524	0.525	0.425	0.418	0.397	0.401	0.396	0.394	—
Vietnam	—	—	0.378	0.420	—	0.434	—	0.433	—

Source: ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013[1]

[1] Ibid., p.219.

(B) Major pattern for China-ASEAN cooperation on poverty reduction

After the Cold War, China started a dialogue partnership with ASEAN countries. In the 21st century, the relationship between China and ASEAN is experiencing rapid development. China not only officially joined the "Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia" (October 2003), but also signed the "Agreement on Trade in Goods" (November 2004), the "Agreement on Trade in Services" (January 2007) and "Investment Agreement" (August 2009) with the ASEAN successively. In addition, the China-ASEAN FTZ was comprehensively completed in January 2010. At the same time, in order to further promote the bilateral political and economic relations, China and ASEAN have gradually begun cooperation in the field of poverty reduction.

1. At the bilateral level, the cooperation on poverty reduction between China and ASEAN countries is mainly reflected in information sharing, economic exchanges and substantive assistance.

Policy information sharing and experience exchanges in the field of poverty reduction have two forms. One is to hold seminars for bilateral poverty reduction. For example, the "Seminar on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction for Laos' Officials" co-sponsored by China's International Poverty Reduction Center, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Poverty Alleviation Office of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Lao's National Commission for Poverty Reduction and Rural Development has been held twice in Nanning, Guangxi. The seminar is divided into four parts, i.e. expert lecture, case analysis, field visit and discussion, which not only provides a condition for both sides to learn more about each other's requests for cooperation in poverty reduction, but also lays a solid foundation for an orderly advancement of bilateral cooperation on poverty reduction. The other form is to take poverty reduction as an important topic for high-level bilateral visits. Exchanges of poverty reduction are frequently conducted among governments and parliamentary delegations of China and ASEAN countries. On September 15, 2011, Zheng Wenkai, Deputy Director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development(LGOPAD) met with the delegation of Dillon, Special Envoy of the President of Indonesia and Special Assistant of President Affairs for Poverty Alleviation, and discussed on bilateral exchanges and cooperation in poverty reduction between China and Indonesia. Mr. Zheng made a brief introduction to China's poverty alleviation institutions, the course of poverty alleviation and the relevant achievements and experience. Mr. Dillon said Indonesia hoped to share China's successful experience in poverty reduction, and was willing to promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation in poverty reduction in the future. [1]On February 18, 2014, Mr. Zheng met with the delegation of Lao People's Revolutionary Party led by Khamboun Douangpannha, Central Committee Member of Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Provincial Secretary and Governor of Saravan. Mr. Zheng introduced the history, accomplishments and experience in China's rural poverty alleviation and development as well as the decision-making and arrangement of poverty alleviation and development in the new era, and answered the pro-poor policies in remote areas and other issues raised by the delegation.[2]

China offers equipment and technical assistance to ASEAN countries. In the 21st century, China has provided a number of aid projects in sets and individual equipment for Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos, which are mainly concentrated in the fields related to people's livelihood, such as civil construction, culture, education and health, radio and telecommunications, municipal facilities and transportation (see Table 3). In addition, China has also provided a number of technical assistance for Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and Laos mainly in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery, manufacturing, transportation, science, education, culture, health and sports, hydraulic and electric engineering and other livelihood-related aspects (see Table 4).

[1] "Zheng Wenkai, Deputy Director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development(LGOPAD) met with the delegation of Dillon, Special Envoy of the President of Indonesia and Special Assistant of President Affairs for Poverty Alleviation", LGOPAD, September16, 2011, http: //www.cpad.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/FPB/cfyjd/201109/173326.html. (Login Time: May 30, 2015)

[2] "Mr. Zheng met with the delegation of Lao People's Revolutionary Party", February 18, 2014, http: //www.cpad.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/FPB/cfyjd/201402/196255.html. (Login Time: May 30, 2015)

Table3: Assistance Projects in Sets of China for ASEAN Countries and Provision of Individual Equipment[1]

Year	Industry	Project Name	Recipient Country
2003	Civil buildings for citizens	Agricultural Technology Center	Philippines
		Agricultural Machinery Plant	Myanmar
		Technological transformation of Beijiang Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant	Vietnam
	Culture, education and health	Luang Prabang Hospital	Laos
2004	Broadcasting and telecommunications	Maintenance of ground satellite station	Laos
	Municipal facilities	Transformation of Triomphe Park in Vientiane	Laos
	Individual equipment	Providing NUCTECH container inspection system	Myanmar
2005	Individual equipment	Providing office equipment and vehicles for Laos-China Cooperation Committee	Laos
2006	Transportation	Kunming-Bangkok Highway	Laos

Table4: China's Foreign-aid Technical Cooperation Projects Undertaken in ASEAN Countries in 2003 - 2005[2]

Year	Industry	Recipient Country
2003	Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery	Philippines
	Manufacturing	Vietnam（2）
	Other	Myanmar
2004	Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery	Myanmar
	Transportation	Indonisia
	Science, education, culture, health, sports	Laos
	Hydraulic and electric engineering	Laos
	Other	Laos,Myanmar
2005	Training	Laos

[1] Table data compiled from: "China Business Yearbook Public House" Editorial Committee: "China Business Yearbook (2004)", China Commerce and Trade Press, September 2004, p.819; "China Business Yearbook Public House" Editorial Committee: "China Business Yearbook (2005)", China Commerce and Trade Press, September 2005, pp.942-943;"China Business Yearbook Public House" Editorial Committee:"China Business Yearbook (2006)", China Commerce and Trade Press, September 2006, pp.356-357; "China Business Yearbook Public House" Editorial Committee: "China Business Yearbook (2007)", China Commerce and Trade Press, September 2007, pp. 339-340.

[2] Ibid.

2. At the multilateral level, the cooperation between China and ASEAN in poverty reduction mainly includes workshops, seminars and the establishment of poverty reduction cooperation funds, etc.[1]

So far, the seminars that have been institutionalized include ASEAN-China Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction, ASEAN + 3 Senior Officials Meeting for Rural Development and Poverty Reduction, and China-ASEAN Tourism for Promoting Poverty Reduction Seminar. Except the Seminar on Policies and Practices of Rural Poverty Reduction in China and ASEAN Countries, the seminars of poverty reduction hosted by China usually is not limited to ASEAN countries, but major poor ASEAN countries are all the main participants, such as the Seminar on Theory and Practice of International Development (Poverty Reduction) for Asian Countries, the Seminar on Comprehensive Poverty Reduction Based on Integrated Rural and Urban Development for officials of Asian countries, the Seminar on Policy and Practice of Development-oriented Poverty Reduction, and the Seminar on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction for Officials in Developing Countries. These seminars are usually sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, and organized by the International Poverty Reduction Center in China, with some provinces and cities involved.

Among the above-mentioned multilateral cooperation platforms for poverty reduction, China-ASEAN Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction plays an important role.

China-ASEAN Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction is an institutional activity established on the theme of poverty reduction by China and ASEAN countries, aiming to provide a platform for sharing and exchanging policies and experience of social development and poverty reduction for policy makers, theory researchers and development practitioners in the two regions. The Forum was proposed at the 2nd High-level Seminar for ASEAN Plus China, Japan and ROK (10 + 3) Regional Poverty Reduction by the LGOPAD of the State Council in 2006, and received a positive response from ASEAN countries. The first session was held in Nanning, China at the end of October 2007. As an important part in the implementation of the "Action Plan for China-ASEAN Joint Declaration on Strategic

[1] Since 1998, China has begun to hold seminars for officials of developing countries, and trained management and technical personnel for ASEAN countries, with the contents covering more than 20 fields, such as economy, diplomacy, agriculture, health care, and environmental protection. Since 2001, China has held over 2,000 seminars, including over a hundred seminars for ministerial officials, and invited more than 10,000 officials of diplomacy, finance, health, education, culture, military, judiciary and other ASEAN government departments to learn in China, of which the contents are mainly involving economic management, political diplomacy, public administration, development zone construction and management, vocational education, NGO and so on.

Partnership for Peace and Prosperity (2011-2015)", over the years the Forum has get the support from Chinese ministries and commissions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, and many other international institutions such as the ASEAN Secretariat, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UNDP and the World Bank.

The nine sessions of the Forum held to date have put forward a total of eight topics: 1. Food, disaster and poverty reduction; 2. global economic recession and sustainable development; 3. free trade; 4. quality of economic growth; 5. inclusive development: equitable development opportunities and regional trade; 6. poverty reduction and inclusive development in the process of urbanization; 7. deepening China-ASEAN regional cooperation in poverty reduction; 8. financial innovation and poverty reduction. The Forum plays an important role in promoting exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN in poverty reduction, its development, and the regional economic development and prosperity.[1]

In addition to high-level exchanges of poverty reduction, the Chinese government also puts more and more emphasis on grass-roots exchanges and cooperation in poverty reduction. Initiated by the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting for Rural Development and Poverty Reduction (SOMRDPE) and co-hosted by China's International Poverty Reduction Center, Sichuan Poverty Alleviation and Immigration Bureau and the Malaysian Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, the "ASEAN + 3 Village Leaders Exchange Program" was successfully held in Chengdu and Nanchong on April 8-12, 2013. Through discussions, exchanges and in-depth field survey in rural areas and communities, the Program aims to enable the representatives of ASEAN countries to learn beneficial experience in practical work from Chinese village leaders, and help the village leaders of ASEAN countries increase the knowledge of rural sustainable development, eliminating poverty and their capacity building. At the same time, through interactive discussions and exchanges, village leaders of China and ASEAN countries can effectively share experience so as to make joint efforts for the cause of poverty reduction in the two regions. More than 60 representatives from China and ASEAN countries participated in the event, including government officials, grassroots village leaders, experts, scholars and international organizations such as the ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN-China Center.

The Program obtained welcome and attention from ASEAN at the beginning of its

[1] White paper of "New Progress in Development-oriented Poverty Reduction in China's Rural Areas (full text)".

establishment, and was incorporated into the initiative of "ASEAN + 3 Summit" Premier Li Keqiang attended in October 2013 and the list of results implementation of leaders' visiting foreign countries. Thanks to good preparation and organization of the International Poverty Reduction Center in China as the specific implementing institution, the 2nd ASEAN + 3 Village Leaders Exchange Program was successfully held in Chengdu City and Yilong County, Nanchong City in Sichuan Province on May 11-17, 2014, focusing on how to build village-level governance framework and integrating internal and external resources to enhance the capacity for collective action. Over 60 representatives from Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and China gathered together. Through the forms such as picture exhibition, special presentation, case exchanges of countries, participatory discussion, field trip, village experience and informal discussion with villagers, they shared their respective experience in effective village-level governance, and understood China's good practices in villagers' autonomy, transparency of village affairs and planning-making of village-level development, making the friendly relations of grassroots in China and ASEAN countries closer.

The successful holding of two sessions of the exchange program has gained the full affirmation of ASEAN delegates. Related departments of Malaysia and Thailand actively expressed the hope that the Chinese side could co-sponsor the program with their countries. China International Poverty Reduction Center is seeking financial support for the institutionalization of the program.

The PRCF is one of the important measures to support poverty reduction in Asia. The fund, which was established under the framework of the ADB, aims to support the poverty reduction, regional cooperation and knowledge-sharing process of developing members in Asia and the Pacific region. After investing $ 20 million to establish the fund in 2005, China invested $ 20 million once again to support the poverty reduction and development of developing member countries. One of the priorities for the PRCF assistance is ASEAN's major poverty-stricken area - Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and the ADB member countries under the framework of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), of which the specific objectives include: to enhance the dominant right of developing member countries in the process of poverty reduction and development; to promote the exchanges of experience and knowledge in poverty reduction and development among developing member countries; to summarize and popularize the best practices of regional cooperation and activities of countries in poverty reduction and development; to strengthen regional cooperation with poverty reduction and development as the goal; and to push forward innovation in poverty reduction and regional cooperation. [1]The PRCF promotes poverty reduction mainly through enhancing the ability of transnational regional cooperation. It supports engineering construction in favor of people, goods and services across countries, and provides regional public goods for the GMS to improve the standards of living and incomes.[2]

In recent years, China has provided approximately $ 11 million for 26 sub-regional cooperation programs through the PRCF. According to the ADB's statistics, among 55 programs of the PRCF approved between 2005 and 2013, a total of 27 programs are focusing on ASEAN or ASEAN member countries, accounting for about half of all the programs. About 80 percent of the PRCF is used for the improvement of border infrastructure.

In addition to the cooperation model for poverty reduction, China is also actively cooperating with third parties to promote poverty reduction programs in ASEAN region. Under the GMS cooperation framework, China, Thailand and the ADB jointly funded for the construction of Kunming-Bangkok Highway, of which the Laos' section was opened to traffic in March 2008. [3]The Mekong River Bridge project of Kunming-Bangkok Highway jointly built by China, Thailand, Laos and the ADB was officially joined the two sections on December 12, 2012.

(C)Progress achieved in China-ASEAN cooperation on poverty reduction

After years of efforts, great progress has been made in China-ASEAN cooperation on poverty reduction, which is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

First, the building of cooperation mechanism for poverty reduction is constantly improving.

A series of permanent cooperation mechanisms for poverty reduction have been established between China and ASEAN, such as the China-ASEAN Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction, the PRCF and the GMS Cooperation Mechanism. At the same time, China and ASEAN also held a series of short-term and targeted activities, including the China-ASEAN Tourism for Promoting Poverty

[1] "Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund of the People's Republic of China", www.adb.org, http: //www.adb.org/zh/site/funds/funds/prc-regional-cooperation-and-poverty-reduction-fund. (Login Time: May 30, 2015)

[2]Asian Development Bank, “People’s Republic of China Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund—Assessment Report,” August 2011, p.ii.

[3] "White paper release of China's Foreign Aid" (full text)", www.chinanews.com, April 21, 2011, http: //www.chinanews.com/gn/2011/04-21/2989430.shtml. (Login Time: May 30, 2015)

Reduction Seminar, the Seminar on Policies and Practices of Rural Poverty Reduction in China and ASEAN countries as well as ASEAN Plus China Japan and South Korea SOMRDPE. The cooperation mechanisms for poverty reduction serve as not only a platform for exchanges of experience in poverty reduction, but also a powerful driving force for various specific cooperation programs.

Second, the scope of cooperation in poverty reduction is increasingly expanding.

From the geographic perspective of cooperation, China has provided direct assistance in poverty reduction for ASEAN countries with large poor population, such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar, and carried out poverty reduction exchanges or cooperation in Singapore, Thailand and other countries with good state of development. From the perspective of cooperation programs, the poverty reduction cooperation between China and ASEAN countries have expanded from transportation, agriculture and energy to environment, human resource development, tourism, telecommunications, trade facilitation and investment.

Third, capital investment continues to increase.

Since the 1990s, China's assistance to the GMS countries has developed rapidly, with the amount increasing. In April 2009, China announced to provide a $ 10 billion of infrastructure fund and $ 15 billion of credit for ASEAN countries to support major investment and cooperation projects in fields such as infrastructure construction, energy and resources, information and communications in China and ASEAN countries, the GMS countries in particular. [1]At the 5th Leaders' Meeting for the GMS Economic Cooperation held in December 2014, China announced to fund $100 million for related work of waterway improvement of Lancang River-Mekong River, invest $ 1 billion to support sub-regional interconnectivity, establish special loans of 10 billion yuan through China Development Bank (CDB) to support the China-ASEAN cooperation in infrastructure construction and the building of factories in the sub-regional countries with China's surplus production capacity, and also fund 3 billion yuan to aid underdeveloped ASEAN countries. In addition, China also plans to provide 3,000 training places for the sub-regional countries in fields of livelihood such as agriculture and health in the next three years, and help them train professionals in these fields. [2]Although the above assistance is not entirely belong to

[1] Lu Guangsheng, Xiong Xin: "aid of China for the Greater Mekong Sub-region countries", "Public Diplomacy Quarterly" Winter 2011, p.40.

[2] "Working Together to Create A New Situation with Good-neighborly Friendship and Inclusive Development - Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the5th Summit for Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation", www.people.com.cn, December 21, 2014, http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2014/1221/c1024-26246077.html. (Login Time: May 30, 2015)

the scope of cooperation in poverty reduction, its implementation will undoubtedly have a good impact on poverty reduction.

In addition, China began implementing the "Asian Debt Reduction Plan" in 2002, which has deducted and exempted due loans and debts of Cambodia, Laos and Myanma to varying degrees, alleviating the debt burden of poor countries in the GMS with practical action.[1]

Fourth, the model of poverty reduction cooperation continues to innovate.

In the long-term poverty reduction cooperation, China and ASEAN countries have made important progress, combining with their actual situations to constantly explore new modes of cooperation in poverty reduction. For example, the ways of China's assistance to the GMS countries have gradually transformed from non-reimbursable aid and interest-free loans mainly to the implementation of discount government loans as well as multiple other channels such as project aid, debt relief, training of personnel, humanitarian relief and dispatch of medical volunteers. At the same time, China and ASEAN countries are actively exploring the mode of promoting poverty reduction through tourism.

With adjacent landscape, both China and ASEAN belong to a region of rich tourism resources. For its high density and long chains, the tourism industry not only plays a great role in boosting the development of regional economy, but also is an important way to help people get rid of poverty and become better off. Most of ASEAN countries, with a tropical climate and charming tropical sceneries, are the preferred route for Chinese citizens in their outbound tourism. Among the ten destinations of outbound tourism in Chinese citizens, ASEAN countries account for almost half. [2]In recent years, the number of Chinese tourists to ASEAN countries has been growing rapidly. As can be seen from Figure 3, in the ten ASEAN countries, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia were the most frequently- visited countries for mainland Chinese during the period from 2005 to 2012.[3]

Practices have proved that the combination of tourism with poverty alleviation has a good foundation. Many poor areas are endowed with rich tourism resources, but due to remote location and traffic inconvenience, their natural landscape and ecological environment are almost completely preserved, which have a high value of

[1] Ibid.

[2] "China-ASEAN Joint Promotion of Tourism for Poverty Reduction", www.cn-asean.cn, November 7, 2011, http: //www.cn-asean.cn/enterprise/info/china-info/195748 .shtml. (Login Time: May 30, 2015)

[3] Public Outreach and Civil Society Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, “ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013,” Chapter VIII, TOURISM, Table VIII.5, p.146.

development. To push forward the combination of tourism with poverty alleviation, to encourage and guide diversified investment subjects into the area of poverty reduction, and to promote tourism for poverty reduction is an important direction for China and ASEAN countries in tourism cooperation. Hoang Dao Bao Cam, Researcher of Tourism Development Institute of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam, pointed out that in Vietnam, the tourism industry is considered to be a leader in economic sectors, and also an important tool for poverty reduction. It brings poor and remote areas of Vietnam a lot of economic benefits and extra incomes for the poor, benefits local businesses, and promotes the development of infrastructure in these areas. EkRotha, Deputy Director of the Planning and Development Bureau of Cambodian Ministry of Tourism believes that tourism makes people's incomes more diversified, and improves the ability of the poor in coping with climate change and fighting against natural disasters.[1]

Figure3: Total Number of Tourists for ASEAN Countries in 2005 - 2012

Source: ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013^{^[2]}

[1] "China-ASEAN Joint Promotion of Tourism for Poverty Reduction".

^{^[2]} Ibid.

Figure4: Number of Tourists for Each ASEAN Country in 2005 - 2012

Source: ASEAN Statistical Yearbook 2013^{^[1]}

Fifth, consensus on poverty reduction is further increasing.

Through a variety of bilateral and multilateral exchanges, the common understanding of China and ASEAN on poverty reduction is constantly increasing. Among the themes of China-ASEAN Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction in previous years, extensive consensus has been made in those such as "Food, Disaster and Poverty Reduction", "Free Trade and Poverty Reduction" and "Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Development in the Process of Urbanization", which helps to further promote exchanges between China and ASEAN countries in cooperation on poverty reduction. The Forum pointed out in the "Nanning Initiative" that, for developing ASEAN countries and China, poverty reduction is an important part of the national industrialization and modern strategic system. It should, based on economic growth and structural optimization, take the establishment and improvement of public services and social security system as the guarantee, complemented by interventions on special relief for poverty reduction and rescue services, so that various social groups can enjoy the benefits of economic growth and social development in a balanced way to achieve common prosperity and progress. In view of this, the Forum calls on, among internal and external institutions of developing countries, to build a international collaborative framework that meets the practical needs of poverty reduction and social development in developing ASEAN countries and China for a period in the future, or exchange their poverty conditions, policy information and practical experience for mutual learning, or conduct theoretical research, and promote the sharing of theoretical knowledge and research methods in poverty reduction, or determine the needs of the countries for poverty reduction and social development, and provide information to developed countries and international organizations for their reference in the formulation and implementation of international assistance strategy.

^{^[1]}Ibid.

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