China seeks to rebuild Silk Road trade links

China is increasingly engaging other countries for its 'One Belt, One Road' initiative to rebuild the historic Silk Road trade links with Europe, Asia and Africa.

The name, 'One Belt, One Road', comes from abbreviating the two planks of the scheme, the 'Silk Road Economic Belt' and the '21st Century Maritime Silk Road'.

It used the 12th China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO), which kicked off on Friday in Nanning and will continue until Tuesday, to show the benefits that the initiative will bring. 

The five-day exposition itself is an attempt to further strengthen the cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and create a new blueprint for maritime cooperation.

China is the Asean's largest trading partner. Asean is China's third largest trading partner.

Bilateral trade between China and the Asean increased 8.23 percent year-on-year to $480 billion in 2014, according to Xinhua news agency.

Featuring “The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: Creating A Blueprint for Maritime Cooperation” as its theme, the exposition will see participation from over 2,200 companies from China and other south-eastern countries.

As part of a series of high-level activities held centring on CAEXPO, the China Daily and China-Asean Expo Secretariat co-organised Asia Media Forum of 12th CAEXPO with the theme “Asia News Network and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road”.

Sponsored by the ANN, a Bangkok-based network of 21 media groups in Asian cities, the forum, which was held on Thursday, was attended by senior journalists and experts from around 20 Asian countries alongside Chinese government officials.

They gave their opinions on the huge prospects of the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative and the challenges that will most likely be faced at the time of implementation.

Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, a member of ANN, said the initiative has captured the imagination of the people of Asia, and particularly those of Bangladesh. The Maritime Silk Road has historic association with Bangladesh: the Brahmaputra river, which originates in China, flows into the Bay of Bengal through the country, he said.

The rest of Asia would like to participate in the economic miracle that China has established, and the initiative is a step in the right direction for that.

About the prospects for South Asia, Cyril Pereira, co-chairman of the Asian Publishing Convention, said the region lack investment, so if China invests through the initiative, the countries of the region will be benefited.

Pereira, however, said the initiative faces many challenges especially stemming from distrust between the Asean countries and China.

Subsequently, he urged China to set up a web portal where all information related to the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative can be found. 

Zhai Kun, a lecturer of international relations at Peking University, said the perception about the Maritime Silk Road varies from region to region, so the government is working with each of them differently.

He also said the Chinese government alone would not be able to make the initiative a success. The other stakeholders such as the media and the businesses have to play a role.

Originating from cities on China's south-eastern coast and using a system of linked ports and infrastructure projects, the Maritime Silk Road aims to reach Europe.

The planned sea route begins in Fuzhou, China and goes via Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and East Africa.

Along the African coast, China plans to develop ports in Kenya, Djibouti, Tanzania and Mozambique.

Drawing on the historical heritage, the “Belt and Road” initiative, a brainchild of Chinese President Xi Jinping, covers more than 60 countries with a population of 4.4 billion and gross domestic product of $21 trillion.

“Prudently and with confidence, many countries are embracing this initiative,” wrote Yang Yanyi, a Chinese diplomat, in the EUobserver, an independent online newspaper reporting on the European Union.