Cross-border transactions: A visitor taps his phone near an Alipay contactless terminal in Wuzhen, China. Services such as Alipay and WeChat Pay are increasingly available in Asean countries. — Reuters
THE ancient silk routes connected China with countries through long journeys and slow exchanges; the modern Digital Silk Road links them in milliseconds, transforming how cooperation, commerce and development unfold.
This transformation is particularly evident between China and Asean.
The two sides have become deeply interconnected markets and natural partners in the digital age.
Digital corridors featuring high-speed, secure pathways for information serve as the backbone of this partnership.
They make it possible for a merchant in Bangkok, Thailand, to confirm a payment from Shenzhen in South China instantly, for a farmer in Laos to use satellite-based tools to monitor crops, and for a doctor in Manila, the Philippines, to consult with a specialist in Beijing through real-time telemedicine.
Where transactions once required arduous monthslong journeys, today cross-border transactions can be completed in the blink of an eye.
History’s hooves and sails have evolved into terrestrial and undersea optical cables. The accelerating push toward digital connectivity in South-East Asia has created an ideal moment for deeper China-Asean cooperation.
Many Asean governments have made the digital transformation of their countries a top national priority, whether it be Thailand 4.0, Indonesia Digital 2025 or similar initiatives across the region.
These efforts reflect both economic necessity and demographic realities: Asean is young, increasingly urban and overwhelmingly mobile-first.
Its digital economy is growing at double-digit rates and is projected to reach US$2 trillion by 2030.
Against this backdrop, China’s experience, technology and capital align naturally with Asean’s rising demand and development aspirations.
Both sides also benefit from a broader constellation of regional frameworks that encourage digital integration, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Digital Silk Road and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
These initiatives and mechanisms provide stable channels for cooperation, enabling China and Asean to not only build physical infrastructure but also deepen policy coordination, investment and innovation.
Infrastructure development has been the most visible starting point.
Over the past decade, China and Asean have jointly built and upgraded multiple undersea and land optical cables, significantly improving transmission speeds and reducing latency across the region.
An enhanced backbone network of three undersea cables and 12 land cables serves as the digital equivalent of a modern expressway system.
It enables previously unimaginable applications, from real-time cross-border livestreaming to instant financial transactions and remote medical services that reach rural and island communities.
Telecommunications cooperation further strengthens these foundations.
Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE continue to support Asean members in building advanced 5G infrastructure.
For example, Huawei helped Thailand’s Advanced Info Service launch South-East Asia’s first “tri-country 5G roaming” service, and it is also collaborating with Malaysia’s major telecom operators to develop a high-performance 5G network.
The impact of this infrastructure is most visible in eCommerce, one of the region’s fastest-growing economic sectors.
Asean’s digital trade reached US$263bil in 2024 and continues to expand rapidly.
China-Asean cross-border eCommerce has been growing at more than 20% annually – proof that digital platforms have become a key engine of bilateral trade.
From fashion and consumer electronics to agricultural products, goods now move with unprecedented speed through digitally enabled supply chains.
Digital payments reinforce this momentum. Services such as Alipay and WeChat Pay are increasingly available in the Asean members, complementing local e-wallet systems and making cross-border financial transactions simpler, cheaper and more secure.
Beyond commerce, innovation is becoming the frontier of China-Asean cooperation.
Cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies are enabling new forms of collaboration.
As digital connectivity deepens, a new challenge comes into view: shared governance and rules for cross-border data flows should be developed.
Infrastructure can connect countries physically, but trust, transparency and clear standards are needed to connect them institutionally.
China and Asean have the chance not only to adopt global digital rules but also to shape them.
As they move from shared technologies to shared norms, they can jointly promote data security, personal information protection, digital-trade facilitation and ethical AI, providing a cooperative model for the wider Global South.
The rise of global digital geopolitics, combined with the emergence of the Global South as a more influential force, gives China and Asean additional strategic space.
Their digital partnership is grounded in years of mutual trust and a tradition of equal, pragmatic cooperation.
As more data flow freely under transparent and mutually recognised rules, the Digital Silk Road can transform from a network of individual cables into a coherent mesh, which is an open, resilient and inclusive digital highway that links two of the world’s most vibrant regions.
History once recorded that “ships crossed the seas in numbers beyond count” along the ancient maritime Silk Road.
Today, digital corridors are renewing that spirit for a new era. They embody cooperation, openness, mutual learning and shared benefits.
Values remain essential as China and Asean navigate a rapidly changing technological landscape.
By building and sharing digital infrastructure, developing innovative applications and shaping forward-looking rules, China and Asean can ensure that the Digital Silk Road becomes a pathway not just for data, but for common prosperity in the decades to come. — China Daily/ANN
Liu Wen is an associate professor at Nanning Normal University and a PhD researcher at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Du Guodong is an adjunct fellow at Zhejiang University’s College of Media and International Culture. The views expressed here are the writers’ own.
