BRI can help upgrade China-ASEAN economic cooperation

China Plus Published: 2019-09-20 22:25:12
Comment
Share
Share this with Close
Messenger Messenger Pinterest LinkedIn

Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language "Commentaries on International Affairs."

The 16th China-ASEAN Expo begins in Nanning City in South China’s Guangxi region on Saturday. This year’s event is centered on jointly constructing the Belt & Road Initiative and building a community with a shared future. It reflects the aim of both sides to strengthen strategic connections for mutually beneficial development outcomes.

As one of the world’s most dynamic regions, the 10-member group of Southeast Asian nations has maintained relatively rapid growth rates in recent years. According to estimates by the World Economic Forum, ASEAN will become the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2020.

The 16th China-ASEAN Expo under way in Nanning, Guangxi, between September 21 and 24, 2019. [Photo: IC]

The 16th China-ASEAN Expo under way in Nanning, Guangxi, between September 21 and 24, 2019. [Photo: IC]

In 2016 ASEAN leaders adopted the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, focusing on five strategic areas - sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence and people mobility. The plan is highly compatible with the Belt and Road Initiative, which features five major priorities - policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and connecting people. In July this year, ASEAN and China agreed to work on the synergy of the two plans. It is expected that both sides will develop a broader space for economic and trade cooperation, providing a good foundation for implementing the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030.

Trade is the cornerstone of the win-win cooperation between the two sides. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for ten consecutive years. Last year, two-way trade reached nearly 590 billion U.S. dollars, up 14 percent over that recorded in 2017. In the first half of this year, of the nine Belt and Road countries that attracted a major proportion of China’snon-financial outbound direct investment, seven were ASEAN members. It’s reported that a blue book, the first of its kind, will be released during the expo, illustrating Chinese investments in ASEAN. As the investment structure and quality continue to be refined, bilateral trade is expected to gain new momentum.

Infrastructure is another channel for bilateral cooperation aimed at mutual benefits. Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, the completion of a batch of projects, including the China-Laos Railway, the China-Thailand Railway and the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, has helped improve the local infrastructure conditions. The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage jointly launched by China’s Chongqing Municipality and Singapore two years ago, will effectively connect China’s vast western region with ASEAN countries. This year’s expo will feature forums and promotional activities to facilitate the integration of such projects as the new international land-sea trade corridor with the newly established free trade pilot zone in Guangxi and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. This is expected to provide new development ideas for upgrading infrastructure and the logistics networks in the countries involved.

Developing the digital economy is a trend for future cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. Both sides have designated 2020 as the year for China-ASEAN digital economy cooperation, focusing on such areas as e-commerce, technological innovation, 5G network and smart city, which can help upgrade regional economic and trade cooperation.

After 16 years of development, the China-ASEAN Expo has become an important platform to promote communication and cooperation between the two sides. A closer China-ASEAN economic and trade relationship is significant at a time when global growth is being hampered by increasing unilateralism and protectionism. With the opportunities coming along with the Belt and Road Initiative, there is hope that upgraded cooperation between China and ASEAN countries will inject new momentum into growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Related stories

Share this story on

Columnists

LU Xiankun Professor LU Xiankun is Managing Director of LEDECO Geneva and Associate Partner of IDEAS Centre Geneva. He is Emeritus Professor of China Institute for WTO Studies of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and Wuhan University (WHU) of China and visiting professor or senior research fellow of some other universities and think tanks in China and Europe. He also sits in management of some international business associations and companies, including as Senior Vice President of Shenzhen UEB Technology LTD., a leading e-commerce company of China. Previously, Mr. LU was senior official of Chinese Ministry of Commerce and senior diplomat posted in Europe, including in Geneva as Counsellor and Head of Division of the Permanent Mission of China to the WTO and in Brussels as Commercial Secretary of the Permanent Mission of China to the EU. Benjamin Cavender Benjamin Cavender is a Shanghai based consultant with more than 11 years of experience helping companies understand consumer behavior and develop go to market strategies for China. He is a frequent speaker on economic and consumer trends in China and is often featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Channel News Asia. Sara Hsu Sara Hsu is an associate professor from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She is a regular commentator on Chinese economy. Xu Qinduo Xu Qinduo is CRI's former chief correspondent to Washington DC, the United States. He works as the producer, host and commentator for TODAY, a flagship talk show on current affairs. Mr. Xu contributes regularly to English-language newspapers including Shenzhen Daily and Global Times as well as Chinese-language radio and TV services. Lin Shaowen A radio person, Mr. Lin Shaowen is strongly interested in international relations and Chinese politics. As China is quite often misunderstood in the rest of the world, he feels the need to better present the true picture of the country, the policies and meanings. So he talks a lot and is often seen debating. Then friends find a critical Lin Shaowen criticizing and criticized. George N. Tzogopoulos Dr George N. Tzogopoulos is an expert in media and politics/international relations as well as Chinese affairs. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre International de Européenne (CIFE) and Visiting Lecturer at the European Institute affiliated with it and is teaching international relations at the Department of Law of the Democritus University of Thrace. George is the author of two books: US Foreign Policy in the European Media: Framing the Rise and Fall of Neoconservatism (IB TAURIS) and The Greek Crisis in the Media: Stereotyping in the International Press (Ashgate) as well as the founder of chinaandgreece.com, an institutional partner of CRI Greek. David Morris David Morris is the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commissioner in China, a former Australian diplomat and senior political adviser. Harvey Dzodin After a distinguished career in the US government and American media Dr. Harvey Dzodin is now a Beijing-based freelance columnist for several media outlets. While living in Beijing, he has published over 200 columns with an emphasis on arts, culture and the Belt & Road initiative. He is also a sought-after speaker and advisor in China and abroad. He currently serves as Nonresident Research Fellow of the think tank Center for China and Globalization and Senior Advisor of Tsinghua University National Image Research Center specializing in city branding. Dr. Dzodin was a political appointee of President Jimmy Carter and served as lawyer to a presidential commission. Upon the nomination of the White House and the US State Department he served at the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria. He was Director and Vice President of the ABC Television in New York for more than two decades.