This article considers the interconnection between the institutional change in the sphere of security and China’s smart power in the Asia-Pacific region. It explores the practical dimension of China’s smart power in the region after the Cold War, and analyzes the multilateral interaction on security issues in the Association of the Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). The appropriate mechanisms in which all the major actors participate are the basis and essence of the macro regional security architecture. This article identifies the links between China’s smart power and the macro regional security institutionalization. It begins by describing the ideological dimension of Chinese foreign policy since the establishment of the People’s Republic. It considers the main theoretical concept constituting China’s international strategy and its economical methods of spreading soft power in the Asia-Pacific region. It goes on to analyze the process of multilateral interaction in macro regional security after the Cold War, recognizing that despite the promotion of cooperation in non-traditional security issues there are still challenges for China, the United States and ASEAN in the realm of traditional security. Moreover, the effective and efficient use of smart power in the ASEAN mechanisms helps China counteract the efforts of other countries in the region to limit its politics. The article concludes that regional multilateral security institutions have reached their limit of effectiveness due to their design and the politics of the main actors. To sustain an acceptable level of security in the region, all participants need to develop new institutions or radically reorganize the existing ones.