Transport drives regional growth

A Chinese saying goes, "building roads is the prerequisite for getting rich". A contemporary version might say that interconnectivity has been a prerequisite for the prosperity of the China-ASEAN region for several decades.

Interconnectivity has been among the major topics for the past 12 annual sessions of the China-ASEAN Expo and will top the agenda of this year's event, according to the expo's organizers.

In recent years, every session of the CAEXPO has agreed that road connectivity should be improved.

During the China-ASEAN Port Development and Cooperation Forum at the fourth CAEXPO in 2007, China and the members rof the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached the Nanning Consensus for deepening cooperation among seaports in the region.

During the 10th expo in 2010, transportation authorities from China and Southeast Asian countries announced cooperation in a number of related areas, including infrastructure construction, transportation, human resources and technology.

Since the 11th CAEXPO in 2014, transportation cooperation has expanded from the 10 + 1 - ASEAN and China - to cover more countries and regions, from the 10 + 3, which also includes Japan and South Korea, to the 10 + 6 that includes India, Australia and New Zealand as well.

This new development is in line with China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road strategy, which the central government announced in 2013.

Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the host of the China-ASEAN Expo, is at the forefront of these initiatives and has benefited greatly from regional transportation cooperation.

The autonomous region has cooperated with Singapore in port construction and has launched more shipping routes to link seaports in Southeast Asian countries.

To date, there are 35 container transportation routes between Guangxi and ASEAN members, according to the autonomous region's transportation authorities.

Guangxi's Qinzhou Port has established sisterly relations with Kuantan Port in Malaysia and Sihanoukville Port in Cambodia.

A recent development is the China-ASEAN Logistics Information Center that became operational in June in Jinzhou. It is designed to facilitate sharing of logistics and transportation information in the 10 plus six framework.

In May, construction on a China-ASEAN maritime training base also began in Qinzhou, which will be used to train navigation staff for ASEAN members.

China's transportation equipment manufacturers have also benefited from CAEXPO.

China's new technologies and equipment in areas such as high-speed trains, light rail, and environmentally friendly commuting were exhibited during last year's expo, attracting attention from ASEAN businesses and governments.

The interconnectivity between China and ASEAN members has entered a new stage with the implementation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Belt and Road Initiative.

At the 13th CAEXPO that is scheduled for next month, a number of conferences, forums and talks for cooperation in highways, railroads, seaports, airports and logistics will be staged.

huoyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/29/2016 page10)