SINGAPORE -- As the third generation of Chinese leaders since 1949 hands power over to the fourth, Southeast Asia and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are following the landmark political transition with keen interest. What does ASEAN expect from the transition?

ASEAN has fully recognized the rise of a "new" China already embodied in the 16th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party held in November. The increasing self-confidence of this new China, which is enhancing its international stature, can be attributed to three factors -- China's spectacular economic growth and development, the stabilization of domestic politics via an expected smooth political transition, and the stabilization of external relations.

Following an impressive growth rate of 8.2 percent and $52 billion of foreign investments in 2002, China is projected to grow by at least 7 percent this year. At the 16th Party Congress, President Jiang Zemin set a goal for China's rapid modernization without social chaos: a quadrupling of gross domestic product by 2020 as China implements commitments to the World Trade Organization.