Infrastructure is the way to a united world

Soon after Donald Trump won the United States presidential election in November, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liqun said Washington might now consider endorsing or even joining the AIIB. In fact, cooperation between China and the US is the only way ahead.

What are the benefits, advantages and characteristics of Beijing-Washington cooperation and China's investments in infrastructure overseas? What are Chinese companies doing in the infrastructure industry worldwide?

Chinese companies are very active in Southeast Asia, one of the world's fastest-growing regions. China Railway Construction Corporation won the bid to build the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail in Indonesia. And a similar project is in the pipeline in Thailand, which would connect Bangkok with Chinese cities. The CRCC may also get the contract to build the prestigious Malaysia-Singapore link. This "high-speed rail diplomacy" is important not only because it creates employment and opportunities of technology transfer, but also because faster links help bolster a sense of unity, which at present doesn't seem particularly strong in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.