BEIJING -- Strengthening infrastructure linking in China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, one of the six key economic corridors under the Belt and Road Initiative, is critically important for boosting regional economic integration.
So far, many countries concerned have taken lots of measures to foster construction of the corridor but overall infrastructure linking is somewhat imbalanced, not to mention the financing and policy coordination difficulties during the process.
Under such circumstances, relevant parties shall work on enhancing coordination between different regions and transportation channels to better facilitate trade and people-to-people exchanges between China and ASEAN countries.
-- Poor infrastructure linking
For a long time, China and ASEAN countries keep close friendships and economic and trade ties and as the best-conditioned economic corridor in terms of construction basis and geological positions planned under the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor shall be given priority to in multilateral cooperation.
Many ASEAN nations have taken a basket of measures to push forward the economic corridor. A government official of Laos said on the just held 9th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum and China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor Development Forum that China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor is very important for Laos and via improving transportation linking in the economic corridor, Laos can fully use its geological advantages to change itself from an inland country into a country better linked with external world and enhance its economic and trade ties with surrounding countries. At present, Laos has already launched some projects under the framework of the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor.
Besides, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and etc. have established various special economic zones or parks in bordering areas. As Winichai Chaemchaeng, vice commerce minister of Thailand introduced, Thailand has mapped out infrastructure construction plan valued two trillion baht in the following decade and also planned to set up special economic zones in its bordering areas to facilitate cross-border trade and investment with neighboring countries.
Up to now, there are six highways, two railways, three waterways, two oil and gas pipelines, eight information channels, 15 road ports, two railway ports, and two ports in the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor. However, these infrastructure conditions still need improving.
Apart from this, imbalanced infrastructure development is obvious in various ASEAN countries and in the east and west part of the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor.
According to Guangxi's transportation authority, the highways linking Vietnam and ports of Guangxi are generally low-level ones with poor traffic, affecting seriously the infrastructure linking between China and Vietnam.
-- Better multilateral coordination, cooperation urged to speed the economic corridor construction
As the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor involves infrastructure linking of many countries, its complexity requires better multilateral coordination and cooperation.
In comparison with the west line, the east line of the economic corridor with Nanning as the linking point can better realize efficient linking of Indochina Peninsula with the three economic circles in south China, central China and west China.
Liang Jinrong, vice head of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and ASEAN opening-up and cooperation office urged China should further materialize the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor planning and give preferential project planning and fund supports for Guangxi.
As for slow progress in cross-border transportation channels linking, construction of China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor and the development strategies of ASEAN shall be combined, together with active utilization of such financing platforms as the AIIB and Silk Road Fund.
Construction and optimization of domestic transportation channels within the economic corridor shall be accelerated. For instance, provincial transportation in Guangxi and Yunnan as well as their transportation networks linking with the Yangtze River economic belt and the Silk Road Economic Belt shall be constantly strengthened.
Currently, manufacturing industry transfer between China and Indochina Peninsula is still underway and despite many businesses moved to southeast Asia, their supply chain and markets are still in China. On back of these, relevant governments shall take the chance and strengthen policy coordination including unveiling more effective policies concerning customs clearance facilitation, cross-border transportation, bonded zone construction in bordering areas to quicken construction of the economic corridor.
Hu Dongsheng, vice head of the Department of Processing Trade and Customs Bonded Operation of the General Administration of Customs held that on basis of China's present overseas economic and trade cooperation zones and various industrial zones in relevant countries, such measures were important for improving channel linking and deepening cooperation as establishing special customs supervision areas, speeding up international capacity and equipment manufacturing cooperation, and conducting information exchange, mutual acknowledgement of supervision and regulatory rules, and cooperation in law enforcement with relevant countries.
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