BEIJING: China and ASEAN have made remarkable achievements under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in their economic and trade exchanges over the past decade, and the two sides will further strengthen cooperation on expanding trade, maintaining the stability of the industrial and supply chains, and improving supporting services, Xu Jianping, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, said on Friday.
Xu made the remarks at a press briefing when the NDRC released six blue papers on China’s achievements on the joint construction of the BRI, covering Chinese medicine, the Green Silk Road, people-to-people bonds and the cooperation achievements realized between China-ASEAN, China-Africa, and China-Latin America and the Caribbean.
Xu highlighted trade, investment and institutional opening-up as the three major cooperation achievements made by the two sides. Bilateral trade surged from $443.6 billion in 2013 to $975.3 billion last year. Cumulative two-way investment exceeded $380 billion as of July this year, and more than 6,500 direct investment enterprises have been set up in ASEAN.
Meanwhile, after entering into force, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership injected strong momentum into regional economic cooperation, as the pact was jointly promoted by China and ASEAN, Xu said.
In addition to the cooperation in regular trade and other sectors, China has also established close cooperation with ASEAN under the BRI in the ocean covering fields from environmental protection to the ocean economy, Chen Xiangmiao, director of the world navy research center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.
Chen added that cooperation in the digital economy will be another major focal point for the future. Moving forward, Xu noted that China and ASEAN will continue strengthening cooperation in key sectors. For instance, China will continue to expand imports of characteristic ASEAN products while stepping up the scale of trade in intermediate goods.
The blue papers captured the fruitful achievements centered on key policies, while establishing a solid foundation for advancing high-quality development for future cooperation, Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Friday.
China-Africa cooperation and the cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean have been progressing steadily under the initiative.
Song noted that Africa has benefited from the BRI in various aspects such as infrastructure, with the momentum expecting to last and expand to more fields.
China stands ready to work with the new government of Argentina for the sustained and steady development of the China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press conference on Wednesday.
Mao made the remarks in response to a media question over reports that Argentina has sent China a letter about the currency swap arrangement between the People’s Bank of China and Argentinean central bank.
