Reference News Network, March 20 report: According to the website of Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao", against the backdrop of prolonged geopolitical conflicts and global instability, China's National Two Sessions has officially passed the 14th Five-Year Plan Outline, continuing to promote the transformation of China's economic structure. During the 14th Five-Year Period, the speed at which Chinese capital and enterprises "go global" to Southeast Asia will also accelerate. How will this trend reshape the ASEAN trade and economic pattern? What new opportunities will the regional economy face?

"Lianhe Zaobao" and Tongshang China will jointly hold the "Interpreting the Two Sessions" forum on March 27. Unlike previous focuses on geopolitics, this forum is themed around "New Chessboard in the Chinese Market and the Restructuring of Southeast Asian Trade and Economy," focusing on macroeconomic and corporate strategies, and inviting three authoritative experts with deep understanding of enterprises to provide in-depth analysis of the policy signals of the Two Sessions and their impact on regional development.

The three guests are: Mao Zhenhua, Professor at the School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Hong Kong, and Chairman of Zhongcheng Investment Group; Fu Qiang, Chair Professor at the Department of Strategy and Policy, National University of Singapore Business School, and Academic Director of EMBA; and Lam Rui Guang, Director of International/Government Relations for Shell Asia Pacific, and Senior Guest Researcher at the National University of Singapore Business School.

This year's government work report for the first time listed "future energy" as the top priority in the list of emerging industries to be cultivated. The 14th Five-Year Plan Outline also mentioned for the first time the construction of an "energy power." When interviewed, Lam Rui Guang said that he would analyze how China's energy innovation reshapes the trade and energy landscape of Southeast Asia based on the framework of "one trend, two observations, and three patterns."

Lam Rui Guang explained that one core trend refers to Asia being the region with the most significant global energy consumption over the next five to ten years. The two observations focus on crisis awareness and strategic synchronization: recent geopolitical conflicts have greatly strengthened the logic of energy security among Asian countries; meanwhile, China's energy transition goals align with those of ASEAN, and their cooperation has upgraded from simple product trade to "output or coexistence of industrial chain standards."

Based on this, the trajectory of China's energy development may bring about three possible directions for Asia: first, a pattern prioritizing each country's own security; second, a pattern driven by artificial intelligence technology; and third, an ideal pattern formed through technological and policy coordination by regional governments.

In terms of overall trade and economy, Fu Qiang believes that the connection between China and Southeast Asia is shifting from "scale expansion" to "deep integration." As Chinese enterprises accelerate their overseas layout, Singapore is expected to seize opportunities brought by headquarters economy and the overflow of science and technology innovation, but it also faces challenges such as intensified resource competition.

He also mentioned that he will approach the topic from the perspective of micro-enterprise strategy, discussing how Chinese enterprises can move from "going out" to "going in," achieving a balance between globalization and localization, integrating more deeply into the global value chain, and shaping brand competitiveness beyond "high cost-effectiveness."

Original: toutiao.com/article/7619242105495437834/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author themselves.