Many analysts see the outcomes of US President Donald Trump’s three day visit to Beijing as being favourable overall to China.

Indeed, President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power after the 19th Party Congress has cemented his legacy as China’s most powerful leader since Chairman Mao. The lack of a clear successor also suggests that Xi’s influence in China will continue beyond 2022, after his second term in power.

Given this, two key questions need to be asked: First, how will China’s behaviour on the international stage change during Xi’s second term and what does China’s continued rise mean for the regional architecture and order.

Second, will China seek to gradually “ignore” ASEAN centrality as it seeks to create a more Sino-centric regional order based on Chinese characteristics?

… Benjamin Ho and Shawn Ho are associate research fellows with the China Programme and the Regional Security Architecture Programme respectively, at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.