China reinforces links with GMS nations
Summit aids Belt & Road ties, smooths South China Sea issues: observers
By Published: Apr 01, 2018 09:48 PM
Cooperation with other Greater Mekong Sub-region countries will help China to consolidate links with neighboring countries, construct the Belt and Road initiative and smooth South China Sea issues, Chinese observers said on Sunday.
At the Sixth Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Summit which concluded in Vietnam on Saturday with the release of a joint summit declaration, leaders adopted and fully supported the Hanoi Action Plan 2018-2022 and the Regional Investment Framework 2022, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.
To support the plan, the framework was formulated for a pipeline of 227 projects at an indicative cost of $66 billion, Xinhua said.
Enhancing cooperation with other Mekong regional countries is of vital importance to China's Belt and Road initiative as they are the areas that benefit first and most directly, Zhuang Guotu, head of Xiamen University's Southeast Asian Studies Center, told the Global Times.
Thanks to geographical proximity, cultural affinity and interconnected interests, China's cooperation in the area has seen few barriers and abundant achievements in transportation, energy, tourism and agriculture in recent years, Zhuang said.
China is the biggest trading partner of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and the second biggest of Laos.
In 2017, trade between China and the other five Mekong sub-regional countries reached $220 billion, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the summit. Some 30 million visits were exchanged between peoples, said Wang, also a Chinese State Councilor.
Closer ties also help smooth the intensifying situation in the South China Sea, said Zhuang. After tasting the sweetness of cooperation with China, these countries will alienate other countries who try to meddle in this disputed area, he said.
In future cooperation, China should pay more attention to respecting these countries' religions and cultures, Zhuang said, and contribute more to preserving the local environment.
Cooperation was still challenged by certain factors, said Gu Xiaosong, deputy director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies in Xiamen University.
Some people in these countries felt threatened by China's rise and are vigilant about China's construction projects in these countries, Gu noted.
"However, these people fail to see how a prosperous China can benefit countries in Southeast Asia," he said.
Trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amounted to $452.2 billion in 2016, according to Xu Bu, China's Ambassador to ASEAN.
China was ASEAN's largest trading partner for the eighth consecutive year and ASEAN was China's third largest trading partner for the sixth consecutive year, Xinhua reported. Accumulated two-way investment stood at $178 billion.
At the Sixth Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Summit which concluded in Vietnam on Saturday with the release of a joint summit declaration, leaders adopted and fully supported the Hanoi Action Plan 2018-2022 and the Regional Investment Framework 2022, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.
To support the plan, the framework was formulated for a pipeline of 227 projects at an indicative cost of $66 billion, Xinhua said.
Enhancing cooperation with other Mekong regional countries is of vital importance to China's Belt and Road initiative as they are the areas that benefit first and most directly, Zhuang Guotu, head of Xiamen University's Southeast Asian Studies Center, told the Global Times.
Thanks to geographical proximity, cultural affinity and interconnected interests, China's cooperation in the area has seen few barriers and abundant achievements in transportation, energy, tourism and agriculture in recent years, Zhuang said.
China is the biggest trading partner of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and the second biggest of Laos.
In 2017, trade between China and the other five Mekong sub-regional countries reached $220 billion, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the summit. Some 30 million visits were exchanged between peoples, said Wang, also a Chinese State Councilor.
Closer ties also help smooth the intensifying situation in the South China Sea, said Zhuang. After tasting the sweetness of cooperation with China, these countries will alienate other countries who try to meddle in this disputed area, he said.
In future cooperation, China should pay more attention to respecting these countries' religions and cultures, Zhuang said, and contribute more to preserving the local environment.
Cooperation was still challenged by certain factors, said Gu Xiaosong, deputy director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies in Xiamen University.
Some people in these countries felt threatened by China's rise and are vigilant about China's construction projects in these countries, Gu noted.
"However, these people fail to see how a prosperous China can benefit countries in Southeast Asia," he said.
Trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amounted to $452.2 billion in 2016, according to Xu Bu, China's Ambassador to ASEAN.
China was ASEAN's largest trading partner for the eighth consecutive year and ASEAN was China's third largest trading partner for the sixth consecutive year, Xinhua reported. Accumulated two-way investment stood at $178 billion.
