China's "new countryside" concept has the potential to inspire its neighbours, and the nation's success in the endeavour will be crucial in impacting surrounding countries with huge rural and agricultural populations.

The concept, which aims to achieve a more balanced and sustainable development between rural and urban imperatives and among regions within China, fits well with the country's "harmonious society" philosophy and may guarantee greater social stability.

As the main policy plank announced after the fifth plenary session of the Communist Party Central Committee last year, it has long been expected to have important domestic impact.

But the new countryside will surely also have some socio-economic implications for China's neighbours in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), especially when ASEAN-China trade, economic and political ties are warming up substantially.

China's Southeast Asian neighbours can certainly learn a few lessons this new Chinese policy and the socio-economic shift that is taking place in Chinese society.

ASEAN has been impressed with the pragmatism of recent Chinese leaders, especially in the post-Deng Xiaoping era, which has resulted in a fundamental shift in ASEAN leaders' thinking on China.

Indeed, ASEAN leaders have clearly stated that they could deal and do business with pragmatic Chinese leaders today, as the latter espouse a clear win-win approach to bilateral relations.

This new policy would again underscore the Chinese leaders' pragmatism in dealing squarely with growing socio-economic issues as China rises in peaceful development.

ASEAN leaders can now look up to this new Chinese experience and apply some of it to their own internal socio-economic policies.

As most ASEAN countries have important rural sectors, much can be gleaned from the new socialist experience. Rural politics and development constitute an important plank in internal ASEAN politics, and could be viewed to be especially sensitive.

Poverty alleviation is imperative in Southeast Asia. Like in China's case, Southeast Asian nations face the challenge of lifting millions out of poverty.

Most ASEAN countries have huge rural populations, which are not as affluent and economically developed as the urban centres.

There is also the urgent social obligation of narrowing disparity, especially closing the gap between rural and urban incomes, which could guarantee the future stability for Asian countries.

China's lead in this area could provide inspiration to ASEAN countries, as they endeavour to achieve greater financial, and even more importantly, socio-economic re-distribution.

Socio-economic re-distribution is a national and regional imperative that will perhaps need future co-operation within the budding East Asian Community one day.

In its overall phenomenal growth, the East Asian region is still grappling for sustainable growth and development, as exemplified by recent cautionary remarks made by international institutions, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

It is in this light that Beijing's experimentation with and the new countryside will be of crucial importance to other Asian nations, especially those with huge agricultural sectors.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono had campaigned in 2004 for a three-pronged "pro-growth, pro-development, pro-poor" strategy, whereas Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has always insisted on a "balanced economic approach" between the fast-growing manufacturing export sector and the "national" agricultural sector.

Beijing's new concept will assist Southeast Asian politicians in their economic growth strategies. Moreover, ASEAN leaders will have to face increasing democratic pressure, as they move for fairer redistribution of incomes, revenues and social and educational opportunities in rural areas.

At an international conference in New Delhi last October, an Indian professor of economics at the Jawahral Nehru University predicted that Beijing's socio-economic modeling could influence developing economies and societies.

This is also what China is trying to achieve in this new socialist countryside concept.

China's concept to build a new countryside will not only help its own, it will also help the developing economies in ASEAN. Its failure or success will not only have a domestic impact, they will affect its neighbours as well.

The author is a business consultant and strategist and Council Member of the Singapore Institute for International Affairs.

Source: China Daily