In March 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce of China unveiled the Belt and Road Initiative to increase regional cooperation connectivity between East Asia and Europe through the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. The BRI will cover 71 countries, accounting for more than half of the world’s population and more than a quarter of the global GDP.
The plan includes the road-based Silk Road economic belt and the maritime-based route Maritime Silk Road, which aims to set up all-dimensional, multi-tiered and composite connectivity networks. The Silk Road economic belt focuses on increasing connectivity between China, Central Asia, Russia, and Europe (the Baltic) by linking China with the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea through Central Asia and West Asia. It also focuses on increasing connectivity between China and Southeast Asia and South Asia. The Maritime Silk Road will connect China’s coasts to Europe through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean in one route as well through the South China Sea to the South Pacific in the other.
On land, the initiative will focus on creating economic corridors between the different countries by taking advantage of the international transport routes, relying on key cities and industrial parks along the route as cooperation platforms. At sea, the Initiative will focus on jointly building transport routes connecting the major seaports along the route.
The key cooperation policies include:
- Policy coordination: Promote intergovernmental cooperation by coordinating economic development strategies, policies, and plans;
- Connectivity of facilities: Improve communication networks and infrastructure quality (roads, rails, ports, aviation) to build a network connecting all sub-regions in Asia, and between Asia, Europe and Africa. While doing so, efforts should be made to promote green and low-carbon infrastructure construction and operation management.
- Unimpeded trade: Improve investment and trade facilitation and focus on removing investment and trade barriers.
- Financial integration: Deepen financial cooperation by building a currency stability system as well as an investment, financing, and credit information system. In addition, increase cross-border exchange and cooperation between credit investigation regulators, credit investigation institutions and credit rating institutions.
- People-to-people bonds:Promote cultural and academic exchanges, media cooperation, youth and women exchanges, and volunteer services, to win public support for deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
