Belt and Road to boost China-ASEAN economic ties

Chinese PresidentXi Jinping(L) meets with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore, Nov. 7, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

China'sBeltandRoadinitiative,highlightedduringPresidentXiJinping'svisittoVietnamandSingaporelastweek,issettoboostbilateraltiesandfacilitatetradeandinvestmentbetweenChinaandSoutheastAsiannations.

ThedeepeningcooperationontheBeltandRoadwiththetwocountries,majormembersoftheAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations(ASEAN)andkeyareasalongtheroutes,willexpandandupgradeChina-ASEANeconomicrelations,analystssaid.

TheBeltandRoadwasproposedbyChinain2013asatradeandinfrastructurenetwork.ItwillconnectAsiatoEuropeandAfricathroughtheSilkRoadEconomicBeltandthe21stCenturyMaritimeSilkRoad.

DuringXi'sthree-daytrip,ChinaandVietnamreachedconsensusonexpandingcooperationwithintheframeworkoftheinitiativeandVietnam's"TwoCorridorsandOneEconomicCircle"plan,aswellasonproductioncapacitycooperation.

Ina20-pointstatement,ChinaandSingaporeagreedtocooperateinBeltandRoadconstruction,trade,cityplanning,educationandcustoms,amongothers.

SongHong,researcherwiththeInstituteofWorldEconomicsandPolitics,ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,saidtheBeltandRoadwillgeneratefreshopportunitiesandinfrastructurecooperationthatwillboostintegrationofChinaandASEANeconomies.

Sharingalandborderofover1,000km,ChinaandVietnamhavebeeninclosecontactoninfrastructurecooperationwithnewexpressroadsandrailwaysstartingoperationsalmosteveryyear.

AjointcommuniqueissuedFridaysaidthetwocountrieshavereachedanagreementonafeasibilitystudyoftheHanoi-LaoCai-HaiPhongRailwayinnorthernVietnam.

NewrailwaysinVietnamareonlypartoftheinfrastructureimprovementinSoutheastAsiaasChinapromotestheambitiousTrans-AsianRailwaythatwillconnectLaos,Malaysia,ThailandandVietnam.

"Thankstoimprovedinfrastructure,logisticsarecheaperandfaster,alongtheroutes,"HuoJianguo,formerpresidentoftheChineseAcademyofInternationalTradeandEconomicCooperation.

Echoinghisremarks,SongrecognizedbrighteningprospectsofChina-ASEANcooperationandcitedfreshopportunitiesincapital-intensiveindustries,likeenergy,cementandsteel,andlabor-intensivesectorsincludingtextilesandgarments.

"ThoseindustriesarematureinChina,willhelptheindustrialupgradeofASEANmembersandarethebestchoiceforcooperation,"Songsaid.

ChinaandVietnamalsosignedanumberofcooperationdocumentscoveringsuchfieldsasparty-to-partyexchanges,transportation,productioncapacity,railway,energy,financeandlocalaffairs.

Morethan1,000kmawayfromVietnam,SingaporeisalsoasignificantlinkintheMaritimeSilkRoad.

WhenmeetingSingaporeanPrimeMinisterLeeHsienLoong,Xisaidthetwosideswillpromoteathirdgovernment-to-governmentprojectthistimeinChongqing,southwestChina,andexplorecooperationbetweentheenterprisesinthirdmarkets.

ZhaoLei,associateprofessoroftheInstituteforInternationalStrategicStudiesatthePartySchooloftheCentralCommitteeoftheCPC,expectsSingaporewilldeepenBeltandRoadcooperationandbuildafourthprojectinChina'swesternregionsinthefuture.

SingaporehasbeenamajorsourceofforeigninvestmentinChina.Between1990and2014,itscumulativeinvestmentinChinatotaled72.3billionU.S.dollars.

ThetwoleadersagreedtoredefineChina-Singaporetiesasapartnershipofall-roundcooperationkeepingwiththetimesduringXi'svisittothecity-state.

BeltandRoadcooperationwillhelpupgradestoChina-ASEANFreeTradeArea(FTA)andintegrationofAsian-Pacificregion.

ThankstotheFTA,since2010,ChinahasbecomeASEAN'slargesttradingpartner,whileASEANisChina'sthirdlargesttradingpartner.TradebetweenChinaandASEANincreased8.23percentyearonyearto480billionU.S.dollarsin2014.

Givengrowingeconomicties,thetwosidesareseekingforanFTAupgradeandhaveseensteadyprogressafternegotiationsingoodsandservicetrade,investmentandtechnologicalcooperation.

"TheFTAupgradeisactuallytheimplementationoftheBeltandRoadconstruction,"Songsaid.

HuosaidChinawelcomescountriesalongtheroutestoactivelyparticipateintotheprocess.