As a vital strategic corridor for China's foreign trade and maritime energy transportation, the Indian Ocean holds significant geostrategic importance in China's broader strategy for national rejuvenation. With the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, China's influence in the Indian Ocean region has grown steadily, accompanied by expanding political, economic, and security interests. To meet the overall requirements of security and development strategies in the new era, further enhancing China's influence in the Indian Ocean region has become an essential choice for promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and building a maritime power. There is an urgent need for China to provide more public goods commensurate with its strength to the Indian Ocean region, fulfill international responsibilities aligned with its capabilities, safeguard overseas rights and interests, and guard against various risks, thereby striving to become an active participant, key shaper, and primary defender of regional order.

Indian Ocean island countries serve as important pillars for expanding China's partnership network in the region. The friendly relations between China and Indian Ocean island countries, characterized by equality and mutual assistance, have endured to this day. Their long-standing historical ties, shared interests, and development aspirations have laid a solid foundation for building a maritime community with a shared future. China has signed Belt and Road cooperation documents with island countries such as Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles, and Comoros, steadily advancing practical cooperation across various fields. Promoting the effective alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the national development strategies of Indian Ocean island countries holds significant practical importance for safeguarding China's overseas industrial and supply chains, ensuring the security of resource and energy corridors, and protecting and expanding China's overseas interests.

Through aid and cooperation, China actively supports Indian Ocean island countries in developing their economies, improving livelihoods, and enhancing their capacity for independent and sustainable development, achieving considerable progress in bilateral and multilateral cooperation. However, due to intensified major-power rivalry, fragmented regional governance structures, and domestic political instability in some countries, the development of relations between China and Indian Ocean island countries still faces numerous risks and challenges. Issues such as vague overall planning, limited cooperation areas and topics, and a lack of high-level cooperation platforms persist in bilateral cooperation. China should scientifically assess the political and national conditions as well as the practical needs of Indian Ocean island countries, while drawing on the experience of cooperation between China and Pacific island countries. By proactively undertaking the responsibilities of a major country, projecting an image of peaceful strength, and strengthening economic integration, cultural identity, and civilizational exchanges with Indian Ocean island countries, the consensus on building a community with a shared future for mankind can take root in these nations.

First, establish high-level dialogue and cooperation platform mechanisms to advance comprehensive cooperation between China and Indian Ocean island countries. To date, no dedicated high-level dialogue platforms or mechanisms exist between China and Indian Ocean island countries. Existing cooperation platforms are limited to organizations such as the Indian Ocean Commission and the China-Indian Ocean Region Development Cooperation Forum. Although China became an observer state of the Indian Ocean Commission in 2016, the participation of non-member states remains limited. The China-Indian Ocean Region Development Cooperation Forum, launched in 2022, targets countries around the Indian Ocean, including island nations. Overall, cooperation between China and Indian Ocean island countries requires further deepening. In terms of cooperation entities, existing cooperation is predominantly intergovernmental, with relatively few collaborations involving enterprises and civil society organizations. In terms of cooperation methods, project-specific collaborations and aid efforts remain fragmented, failing to generate scale effects or significant influence. Regarding cooperation topics, efforts are mainly concentrated in infrastructure development, climate change, and medical assistance, while cooperation in trade, technology, and other areas still needs strengthening.

The cooperation space between China and Indian Ocean island countries is vast, with immense development potential. As an important dimension of expanding China's partnership network in the Indian Ocean region, it is urgent to establish high-level dialogue and cooperation platform mechanisms with Indian Ocean island countries to advance bilateral and multilateral comprehensive cooperation. Strengthening top-level design to provide organizational and institutional guarantees for all-round cooperation, integrating Indian Ocean island countries into China's broader neighborhood diplomacy framework, building cooperation platforms under the South-South cooperation framework, and continuously promoting the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the national development strategies of Indian Ocean island countries are essential steps. Fully considering the unique value and status of Indian Ocean island countries and drawing on the cooperation model between China and Pacific island countries, China could explore establishing a dedicated China-Indian Ocean Island Countries Economic Development Cooperation Forum as a high-level platform for economic and trade cooperation. Based on bilateral needs, sector-specific development forums or joint committees could also be established. Additionally, expanding cooperation areas and enriching the participants in exchanges are crucial. Building on the foundation of intergovernmental dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, promoting multi-entity, multi-level, and multi-field cooperation and exchanges between enterprises, social organizations, and citizens of both sides is essential.

Second, promote the establishment of a China-Indian Ocean Island Countries Blue Partnership to jointly build a maritime community with a shared future. China and Indian Ocean island countries share broad cooperation potential in areas such as marine rights protection, marine resource development, and marine environmental governance. Under the framework of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, promoting the establishment of a China-Indian Ocean Island Countries Blue Partnership and organizing regular marine cooperation forums will advance practical cooperation in marine economic development, marine scientific research, marine disaster prevention and reduction, and marine ecological protection.

Specifically, first, fully consider the priority development areas and core interests of Indian Ocean island countries, continuing to provide necessary support in funding, technology, materials, and talent through aid and cooperation to help them address critical issues such as climate change and marine environmental protection. Second, support Indian Ocean island countries in participating in setting international agendas such as marine rights, assist them in building sustainable fishery development mechanisms, and explore establishing a China-Indian Ocean Island Countries Fishery Governance Cooperation and Exchange Platform. Innovate fishery cooperation models and deepen technology and investment cooperation in areas such as fishery facilities, equipment, and aquatic product processing. Third, drawing on successful practices from China's cooperation with Pacific island countries, explore establishing a dedicated China-Indian Ocean Island Countries Blue Disaster Prevention and Reduction Cooperation Mechanism, providing necessary special funds and technical support to Indian Ocean island countries, assisting in the training of marine governance professionals, and comprehensively enhancing marine disaster prevention and reduction capabilities. By building a China-Indian Ocean Island Countries Blue Partnership, help these countries enhance their endogenous economic development momentum and jointly build a maritime community with a shared future.

Finally, conduct cultural diplomacy to promote the construction of people-to-people connectivity between China and Indian Ocean island countries. Deepening cultural exchanges and mutual learning is an important way to eliminate estrangement and misunderstandings and promote mutual understanding and affinity between peoples. As state-to-state relations thrive on people-to-people ties, projecting an image of a confident, open, inclusive, and responsible major country and enhancing China's cultural soft power in the Indian Ocean island region are key to ensuring the steady and long-term construction of a China-Indian Ocean Island Countries community with a shared future. Foster a multi-level, multi-entity cultural diplomacy landscape tailored to the Indian Ocean island region, gain a deep understanding of the national conditions, political situations, social contexts, and public sentiments of these countries, and integrate aid cooperation with cultural diplomacy to form multi-level and multi-dimensional cultural exchange mechanisms involving governments, civil society, organizations, and individuals. Additionally, special attention should be paid to the role of overseas Chinese in Indian Ocean island countries in building people-to-people connectivity. Actively adapt to new changes in global, national, and overseas Chinese contexts, move beyond traditional analyses of on-the-ground investment risks or cultural exchange strategies, and conduct comprehensive assessments from perspectives such as the social ecology of Indian Ocean island countries and transnational multicultural traditions. Strategically grasp the practical pathways, impacts, and exemplary roles of overseas Chinese in Indian Ocean island countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. Leverage the rich local networks and substantial economic and intellectual capital of overseas Chinese, utilize their dual cultural capital advantages and local resources, and present China's image and voice through discourse and communication channels favored by local residents. Enable overseas Chinese to become promoters, guides, and builders in fostering people-to-people connectivity, enhancing trust, and dispelling doubts, allowing the consensus on building a community with a shared future for mankind to take root in Indian Ocean island countries.

(This article is a phased achievement of the National Social Science Fund Major Special Project (22VHQ003))

Author's Biography: Zhu Xianlong is the Dean and Professor of the School of Foreign Languages at South China University of Technology and the Executive Director of the Indian Ocean Island Countries Research Center.

Source: Chinese Social Sciences Today