Maritime Silk Road Brings New Opportunities to China, ASEAN

Accelerating the maritime Silk Road development became a heated topic at the 8th Pan-Beibu Gulf (PBG) Economic Cooperation Forum, as the initiative is expected to inject fresh impetus to regional growth.

The forum, which was held here on Thursday, drew government officials, experts and business people from China and the PBG countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Infrastructure development will get a boost from the ambitious plan with better connectivity linked by waterway, road and railway, according to transport officials attending the forum.

Attendees also showed great interest in promoting tourism cooperation as countries along the maritime route have long coastlines and beautiful landscapes, and thus boast tremendous potential yet to be unleashed.

Cross-border investment, financial innovation and cultural cooperation were also discussed at the forum to promote the building of the maritime Silk Road.

A 21st century maritime Silk Road was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Indonesia last October. Since ancient times, Southeast Asia has been an important hub along the historical maritime Silk Road, a commercial route on which China sold silk, ceramics and tea to overseas markets.

The PBG forum, held in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is a sub-regional mechanism under the China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) framework.

MARITIME CONNECTIVITY

Jiang Zhenghua, former vice-chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China's top legislature, said at the opening ceremony that the world is embracing an era of marine cooperation.

China will make full use of the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund and China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund to promote port construction and logistics development in the PBG region, Jiang said.

Ayumi Konishi, director general of the Asian Development Bank's East Asia Department, said 80 percent of trade in the PBG region depends on maritime transport.

"Without good maritime connectivity, much of the region's potential will be untapped," said Konishi.

Better connectivity was echoed by transport officials from Vietnam,Myanmar and Cambodia.

Nguyen Hong Truong, vice minister of transport of Vietnam said, "Vietnam looks forward to continued close cooperation with ASEAN countries and China to enhance the PBG cooperation in prioritized areas including infrastructure, environmental protection, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges."

U Han Sein, vice minister of transport of Myanmar, said Myanmar is intensifying efforts to fight corruption, reduce poverty and push for economic reforms, to create a good environment for foreign investment.

Tram Lv Tek, minister of public works and transport of Cambodia, wooed investment in construction and expansion of two major ports in his country.

TOURISM COOPERATION

The tourism sector, with strong growth momentum, is rising to be a new engine in enhancing regional economic cooperation thanks to initiatives to promote person-to-person exchanges.

Last August, four border cities in Guangxi including Beihai, Fangchenggang, Chongzuo and Baise, got the privilege to issue travel permits to non-local residents.

Wang Min did not plan to visit Vietnam when he traveled to Guangxi on a self-drive tour with his family last year.