Even though a decade has passed, Grace Jessica can still vividly recall the moment when she read about Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal on the "Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)" made during his visit to the Indonesian parliament in the newspaper. She referred to it as a crucial moment for herself because, since then, she has sensed Indonesia's increasing desire to connect with China, just like many other developing countries. From that moment on, her curiosity about China began to grow.

Almost a decade on, in 2019, Jessica, as a fresh university graduate, took a job as an assistant director at the Tegalluar Station, the end point of recently unveiled Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) line, a landmark project under the China-proposed BRI. Her participation in such an important national infrastructure project has become a point of pride for her family, and has made her a celebrity among Indonesian people.

"For us, mentioning China means 'more bridges, more roads, and more opportunities.' The rise of China is marked by its increasingly strong economic power, which is reflected in visible and usable roads and bridges," said Jessica. 

Jessica's summary of China is a microcosm of what China represents in the minds of many young people, especially Gen-Zers in Southeast Asian countries. 

In a recent visit to Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, it was evident to the Global Times that despite West-led chatter and misinformation regarding China, many in these Southeast Asia countries have a rational understanding of China. They see more of China's friendliness, its mutual benefit philosophy, and positive regional influence rather than as an alleged threat.

Embracing China means embracing hope

Unlike previous generations, the younger generation in many Southeast Asian countries positively views China's market and technological strength. Jessica told the Global Times that Indonesians see better career development opportunities through the BRI. "I see embracing China as embracing hope both personally and nationally. The BRI infrastructure project in Indonesia means shorter distances to reunite with family, national pride, and expectations for rapid development." 

Gen-Zer Rizka Anggraini, a provincial top scorer in Indonesian national exam from South Sumatra Province, Indonesia, shares the same viewpoint. After graduating from high school, she applied for a Chinese government scholarship and chose to study in China instead of traditionally popular Western countries. Even before graduating, she had secured a place at a Chinese state-owned enterprise investing in energy projects in Indonesia. Some of her friends envy her proficiency in Chinese and her background of studying in China, which means a future income, especially as Chinese companies gradually expand their presence in Indonesia.

In February, the ASEAN Studies Centre of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore released "The State of Southeast Asia: 2023 Survey Report," showing that China continues to be seen as the most influential economic (59.9 percent) and political-strategic (41.5 percent) power in the region. In comparison, the percentage of respondents who believed that "the US has the greatest influence" in these two areas were 10.5 percent and 31.9 percent respectively.

Another survey by Pew in 2022 showed similar trends, as a median of 66 percent across 19 countries believe that China's influence on the world stage is growing stronger, while just 32 percent say the same about the US. In each country surveyed, more than half of adults say China's influence in the world is strengthening.

The expansion of this influence is driven by the increasing presence of Chinese brands and China's burgeoning soft power on the global stage. 

Soft power promotes people-to-people ties

When journalists from the Global Times interviewed young people on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand, and asked what they were most interested in about China, their answers were mostly Chinese idols and TV dramas, Chinese cuisine, and "Made in China" products. 

In many Southeast Asia cities, Mixue, a Chinese store chain offering fresh ice cream and tea, for example, has become trendy on social media platforms. Social media users post about their daily cravings for Mixue products and make jokes and memes. Global Times reporters can often see the queue at the door of its shops.

Not only are Chinese brands popular in Thailand, but in 2020, Super Poll, a pollster in Thailand, conducted a survey on the "Sino-Thai friendship during the pandemic." In response to the question of "who is Thailand's closest friend during the pandemic," 73.3 percent of the respondents chose China, while Japan, the European Union, and the US were chosen by 8 percent, 4.4 percent, and 3.4 percent respectively. Noppadol, the head of Super Poll, stated that the survey shows the trust that Thai people have in China.

The Global Times' visit to the Confucius Institute at the Chulalongkorn University revealed that in Thailand, Chinese has gradually replaced Japanese as the second-largest foreign language after English, which reflects young people's increasing enthusiasm for Chinese and interest in China.

When discussing the impressions of young Malaysians toward China, former Malaysian ambassador to China Dato Abdul Majid emphasizes a division between them - those who have traded with or visited China usually hold a more positive perception, while those who have never been to China and only learn about the country from the media do not have a true understanding of the real China.

Majid hopes for more opportunities for communication to allow these people to see an objective and authentic China in order to eliminate misunderstandings.