Cooperation on Belt and Road Initiatives

By+YU+NING

CHINESE President Xi Jinping put forward the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiatives during his visits in 2013 to Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Over the past year， both have helped promote Chinas cooperation with countries in Central and Southeast Asia， in such areas as trade and monetary cooperation， transport connectivity， and people-to-people exchanges.

The Silk Road Economic Belt stretches from China to Europe through West Asia. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road extends from China to the Indian Ocean， the Arabian Sea， and the Gulf through Southeast Asia. Both of these open and inclusive economic belts enjoy the universal benefits of winwin cooperation.

Cooperation along the northern Silk Road has promoted a rapid increase in trade volume between China and the four Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan， Turkmenistan， Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Mutual trade jumped to US $40.2 billion in 2013， nearly 100 times that of 1992. In the meantime， the revival of the Silk Road economy has helped improve infrastructure construction， create jobs， and support local economies along the route.

Likewise， the southern Silk Road has proved important to China and South Asia， which are now home to almost 2.8 billion people. Bilateral trade increased to about US $100 billion in 2013， as compared to US $35 billion in 2006.

Working together to revive both Silk Roads meets the trend of the times of regional cooperation. It is conducive to realizing mutual exchanges and complementary advantages among therelated regions， as well as establishing and improving the supply chain， industry chain， and value chain across the Asian and European continents， thereby bringing Pan-Asia and Asia-Europe regional cooperation to a new high. It will also help Asian and European countries explore the potential of regional and domestic demands， create new economic growth points， strengthen the endogenous dynamics and risk-resistance capability of the economy， and push for- ward the transformation and upgrading of the economy.

Successful implementation of the initiatives also meets the demands of Chinas development and of its cooperation with other countries； it will help to expand and accelerate opening-up of the inland and border areas of China.

The Belt and Road Initiatives cover five areas of communication and connectivity， highlighting practical and project cooperation. They will bring tangible benefits to peoples of the relevant countries：endprint

First， communication on policies. All countries concerned can fully communicate with each other on economic development strategies and solutions. They can work out plans and measures for regional cooperation through consultations， to give a “green light” to policymaking geared to regional economic integration.

Second， connectivity of roads. China and the relevant countries need to find ways of improving cross-border transportation infrastructure， and of building up a transportation network connecting all sub-regions of Asia， as well as Europe and Africa， to solve the problems of “having no roads or contact，” “having roads yet no contact” and “having contact but getting jammed.”

Third， trade facilitation. Countries concerned can explore ways to facilitate trade and investment and make appropriate arrangements to remove trade and investment barriers， and improve the speed and quality of the circulation of the regional economy.

Fourth， circulation of currencies. Countries concerned should promote local currency clearing and currency swaps， and strengthen bilateral and multilateral financial cooperation. They should build regional developmental financial institutions， reduce transaction costs， increase the ability to withstand financial risks through regional arrangements， and make the region internationally more economically competitive.

Fifth， amity among peoples. China and the relevant countries should consolidate the foundation of popular support for state-to-state relations， promote exchanges and dialogues among different civilizations， and strengthen friendly exchanges among their peoples， especially at the grassroots， to enhance mutual understanding and traditional friendship.

Implementation of the Belt and Road Initiatives is a long-term and systematic project. It therefore requires step-bystep efforts to expand comprehensive regional cooperation.endprint