During his trip to Seri Begawan, Li will attend the 16th China-ASEAN leaders meeting, the 16th ASEAN plus three (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) summit and the 8th East Asia Summit. Though ASEAN may not as well-known as international organizations such as the EU and NATO, its role in the modern world cannot be overlooked.

Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said that China-ASEAN relations have not always been smooth. Every major development has been in response to a crisis.

"It would be wise to establish an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). ASEAN needs this to strengthen itself. It must connect with other major East Asian counties, to increase its vitality."

"The last time when China-ASEAN relation improved remarkably was during the East Asian financial crisis. The global financial crisis has strengthened mutual relations further. There are worries that the expanding ASEAN is not strong enough to build regional cooperation. With strong support from China, ASEAN will be able to play dominant role in various mechanisms and more countries will be attracted to ASEAN. This is why China is so interested in ASEAN."

There are three major aspects in China and the ASEAN economic cooperation: how to increase inter-connectivity between member countries, recognizing the ASEAN Framework for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and how to make relations more bilaterally complementary.

China is economically interdependent from ASEAN countries. The various sides have different strengths in business, natural resources, productivity and their industrial structures.

In addition to economic cooperation, China and ASEAN have very important common interests in politics and security, especially in safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea. Both sides should work towards the same goals.

Many international relations experts are optimistic about the perspective of China-ASEAN relations.

"China - ASEAN relations are closer than ever and will continue to strengthen," said Zhang Yunling, director of the APEC Policy Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Commenting on the South China Sea issue, Su Hao said: "it's just a technical problem between countries. It's not a regional problem that will affect China-ASEAN relations."