In the face of accelerating global economic fragmentation and technological competition, Southeast Asian nations are presented with unprecedented opportunities through strategic alignment with China’s technological advancement, according to analysis from Thai academic experts.
Arm Tungnirun, Director of the Chinese Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University’s Institute of Asian Studies, contends that ASEAN member states must fundamentally reconsider their approach to globalization and development paradigms. The expert emphasizes that prevailing assumptions about temporary geopolitical disruptions are misguided, noting that the global framework has undergone permanent transformation requiring strategic reconfiguration at national and regional levels.
The core opportunity for ASEAN lies in transitioning from competitive positioning to collaborative creation, leveraging the region’s unique structural advantages. These include geographical proximity to China, intricate production networks, political diversity, and expanding consumer markets. This positioning enables ASEAN to function as a crucial bridge connecting systems, standards, and innovation ecosystems for mutual benefit.
China’s technological transformation is advancing at unprecedented velocity, accelerated by strategic competition with the United States that has elevated technology to a national priority. This has triggered massive capital redirection toward high-tech sectors and foundational research, with signals from China’s forthcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) indicating a comprehensive shift toward technology-intensive industries deeply embedded in regional value chains.
The transformation centers on developing “new quality productive forces” encompassing emerging sectors including quantum technology, 6G communications, embodied artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing, and advanced nuclear energy. Critical to this evolution will be integrating these general technologies within existing industrial frameworks, potentially reshaping production networks across the region.
For Thailand and ASEAN members, this technological shift presents a dual reality: significant disruption for industries unprepared for rapid advancement, alongside substantial opportunities for those capable of strategic adaptation. The strategic discourse must pivot from impractical competition with China in frontier sectors toward integration within this burgeoning ecosystem through collaborative creation mechanisms.
Potential collaboration formats include joint research initiatives, complementary manufacturing roles, shared applications platforms, and regionally integrated innovation networks. By aligning domestic capacity-building with China’s technological trajectory, ASEAN nations can ascend global value chains while maintaining strategic autonomy in the new technological landscape.