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Maritime Silk Road to energize regional growth
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ACCELERATING the maritime Silk Road development became a heated topic at the 8th Pan-Beibu Gulf (PBG) Economic Cooperation Forum. The forum, which was held last Thursday in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, drew officials, experts and business people from China and the PBG countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Participants discussed cross-border investment, financial innovation and cultural cooperation 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 is a sub-regional group under the China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) framework.
Jiang Zhenghua, former vice chairman of the National People’s Congress 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.
The tourism sector is becoming a new engine in enhancing regional economic cooperation dues to initiatives to promote person-to-person exchanges. Besides land routes, there are two sea routes linking Guangxi and Vietnam. They start from the scenic beach cities of Beihai and Fangchenggang and both end at the Vietnamese world heritage site Halong Bay in northern Vietnam.
Frequent exchanges
Frequent tourism exchanges between Guangxi and Vietnam are just part of a bigger picture of a boom in tourist trips between China and ASEAN countries.
Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia rank among the top 15 tourist sources for China, according to the China National Tourism Administration. Chen Wu, chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, told the forum that China and ASEAN could consider visa exemptions to boost marine tourism and cross-border trips.
The much-anticipated maritime Silk Road calls for closer collaboration among members along the route.
Yet, hurdles remain with unsolved funding issues as well as trade and investment barriers. Territorial disputes over the South China Sea cast doubts over prospects of the initiative.
Qu Xing, director of China Institute of International Studies, said regional forums like the PBG are important mechanisms to enhance understanding and advance regional cooperation.
As to funding, Fan Gang, director of the National Economic Research Institute at the China Reform Foundation, called for more favorable conditions for private investors to participate in the construction of the maritime Silk Road.
(Xinhua)
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