Shen Danyang, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), unveiled at the routine news conference on March 31 that after the Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road was released, the MOC will carry out relevant works from four aspects, including promoting economic and trade cooperation with countries along the road, mutually enlarging market opening and actively exploring establishment of new free trade zones.

 

Shen said the economic and trade cooperation will be the basis and pilot program of the Belt and Road construction. MOC will mainly focus on the following four aspects recently: first, vigorously promoting economic and trade cooperation with countries along the road, enlarging mutual market opening, improving trade facilitation, and mining new trade growth points; second, enlarging the two-way investment relying on the border economic cooperation zones, cross-border economic cooperation zones and overseas economic and trade cooperation zones; third, deepening regional and sub-regional cooperation of various forms, and actively exploring establishment of new free trade zones; fourth, relying on the cooperation mechanisms such as Bilateral Economic and Trade Commission and Joint Committee to strengthen communications with countries along the road, pool wisdom of all parties and jointly promote implementation of a batch of important projects so as to benefit the peoples along the road. 

 

On March 28, the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China jointly released the Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. Based on the document, China is willing to work with countries along the road to continuously enrich and improve the cooperation contents and forms of “the Belt and Road”, jointly work out the timetable and roadmap and actively gear in the development and regional cooperation planning of countries along the road.

 

Moreover, relevant leaders said China will strengthen economic and trade cooperation on six aspects: first, working hard to improve the free trade and trade facilitation; second, trying to enhance the trade transformation and upgrade; third, working hard to accelerate the investment facilitation procedure; fourth, expanding the mutual investment fields; fifth, exploring new investment cooperation modes; and sixth, setting up new models of investment cooperation.

 

The relevant experts said it is the experience of developed countries to realize the industrial upgrade and maintain the economic prosperity by developing the export-oriented economy to solve the domestic economic challenges. The Belt and Road construction will significantly boost the foreign investment, accelerate the domestic industrial structure upgrade, drive the development and export growth of production and service industries to provide a permanent powerhouse for the economic development of China.

 

Source: www.comnews.cn, April 1, 2015