The Analysis of China-ASEAN Relations: Moral Realism Perspective

By more carefully selecting China's investment projects, ASEAN countries will be able to overcome the growing debt burden.Taking into account the debt burden indicator, monitoring projects for compliance with the economic plans of the country, its competitive advantages, growth gaps, calibration of the investment strategy for the needs and capabilities of a particular country will give economic returns from projects. Chinese infrastructure projects will bring capital and advanced technologies to the economies of ASEAN countries, which will increase the comparative advantages of their raw materials and labor-intensive industries. In addition, balanced investment decisions will help reduce the degree of the gap between investment flows, which has grown many times in recent years.Taking into account the favorable indicators of the debt burden, as well as many "gaps" for economic growth, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines are the most attractive and promising recipient countries of Chinese investment.ConclusionThe institutional asymmetry between China's projects and the norms of the ASEAN Master plans can be overcome by unifying and universalizing the norms of projects with the regulatory rules of the Association. The goals and plans of the projects can be reoriented in accordance with the internal integration vector of ASEAN. For example, transport highways can be built connecting not only individual ASEAN countries and China, but also ASEAN countries with each other.Solving the dilemma related to the South China Sea in favor of China on the basis of recognition of its historical right will expand the investment and technological prospects for the development of the ASEAN countries, since the South China Sea harbors rich deposits of oil and gas, and China owns all the necessary capacities for their production. All this will accelerate economic growth in the ASEAN countries and strengthen their competitive positions in the global market.So, both hypotheses are confirmed in the course of the study: dilemmas in cooperation between China and ASEAN, if they are effectively resolved, really create new impulses to expand the prospects of the region. China—ASEAN cooperation is beneficial for the Association and can potentially become a driver of the economic development of the region.List of literature and sourcesPalmujoki, E. (2011) Regionalism and globalization in Southeast Asia.L. : Palgrave Macmillan.Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection (2021): Asia Maps // Univercity of Texas Libraries. 2021. – https://maps.lib. utexas.edu/maps/asia.html (access: 19.12.2021).Ramo, J.C. (2014)The Beijing Consensus. L.: The Foreign Policy Center.Reed, J. W. (2011)The China Sea Directory. British Library. Vol. II. Containing directions for the navigation of the China Sea, between Singapore and Hong Kong.Singh, G (2021). China and ASEAN: Flourishing at 30 // Observer Research Foundation. 2021. 04.12. — https://www. orfonline.org/expert-speak/china-and-asean-flourishing-at-30/ (access: 19.12.2021).Stubbs R. (2018) The ASEAN alternative? Ideas, institutions and the challenge to 'global'governance. The Pacific Review. \Vol. 21. № 4.