-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Back in October, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed building a close-knit China-ASEAN community under the guidance of a 21st Century Maritime1 Silk Road to promote maritime cooperation.
The initiative fits well with the ASEAN Master Plan for Connectivity adopted in 2010, aimed at enhancing the region's infrastructure2 and institutional connections.
Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, President of Malaysia-China Friendship Association, says the "Belt and Road" initiative will be a boon3 for trade relations between the two sides in the near future.
"I think to me, the next 5 years are very optimistic. The connectivity between ASEAN and China will be totally different from what we see today. First of course, we talk about connectivity in communication in terms of air links, land and also by sea. In future, there will be the new interaction and connectivity between the Chinese people and the ASEAN people to improve tourism."
China has been ASEAN's largest trade partner since 2009, with ASEAN ranking as China's third-largest trade partner since 2011.
一带一路加强中国东盟合作
Bilateral4 trade between China and the ASEAN members is expected to hit 500 billion US dollars by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, it has been five years since the China-ASEAN free trade area was set up, eliminating tariffs5 on 90 percent of imported goods.
Bong Hon Liong, President of the Malaysia-China Chamber6 of Commerce, has suggested China's "Belt and Road" initiative could help realize a more integrated ASEAN community.
"The first thing is financing connectivity, which requires each nation to be more open to foreign investment. Secondly7, there should be more cooperation on policy, including the signing of more inter-governmental deals. The other two aspects are tighter links between each other's infrastructure and goods. As such, people in related countries could enjoy more choices of commodities."
However, Professor Tang Zhimin from Panyapiwat Institute of Management in Thailand believes that there's still a long way to go before the ideas contained within the "Belt and Road" initiatives can be carried out.
Professor Tang says the implementation8 process requires joint9 efforts from both governments and enterprises.
"The Belt and Road Initiatives is no doubt important to ASEAN's economic development. But we need to hammer out how to turn these ideas into concrete plans. In doing so, we will consider the establishment of governmental mechanisms10 within the region. Then, we will also study on how to connect the 'Belt and Road' with ASEAN's Master Plan for Connectivity in terms of funding and institutional building."
Last year, the China-ASEAN Information Harbor was jointly11 established as a focus for Internet connectivity between the two sides.
By the end of this year, the ten ASEAN countries are expected to form the ASEAN Community, aimed at closer integration12 through political security, economic and socio-cultural links.
The new community will help provide more potential for China and ASEAN cooperation in infrastructure construction and cross-border trade.
For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.
点击收听单词发音
1 maritime | |
adj.海的,海事的,航海的,近海的,沿海的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 infrastructure | |
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 boon | |
n.恩赐,恩物,恩惠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 bilateral | |
adj.双方的,两边的,两侧的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 tariffs | |
关税制度; 关税( tariff的名词复数 ); 关税表; (旅馆或饭店等的)收费表; 量刑标准 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 secondly | |
adv.第二,其次 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 implementation | |
n.实施,贯彻 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 mechanisms | |
n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 );机械装置;[生物学] 机制;机械作用 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 jointly | |
ad.联合地,共同地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 integration | |
n.一体化,联合,结合 | |
参考例句: |
|
|