China-Asean relations are bigger than mere geopolitics

China-Asean relations are usually described in two ways. One emphasises danger: the China-sea" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8346" data-entity-type="location">South China Sea, US-China rivalry, military pressure and risk of Southeast Asia being pulled into China’s orbit. The other emphasises opportunity: Trade, Infrastructure, investment, supply chains and shared growth.Both are true. Neither is enough.I recently joined a study tour by the University of Hong Kong’s China-and-the-world" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="150218" data-entity-type="organization">Centre on Contemporary China and the World to Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. During the trip, I was struck by how much the relationship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations lies beyond the usual language of Geopolitics. It is being built through food systems, satellites, aircraft, universities, finance, culture, Infrastructure, data centres, business networks and regional institutions.