China's good terms and prosperity with ASEAN

The 15 years since dialogue was established between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have witnessed steadily improving relations between the two sides. ASEAN, founded in 1967, includes Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei. Despite being close neighbours, China and ASEAN did not have official relations until 1991, due largely to the negative influence of the Cold War. China and ASEAN's member countries are all developing nations, and therefore share many common interests. As the Cold War came to an end, the two sides put economic development and maintenance of regional stability on top of their agenda. In this scenario, the two sides had the intention for dialogue and co-operation.