Local gov'ts in China keen to take part in 'Belt and Road' initiatives

• 2015-05-02

A map of Fujian province. (File photo/CFP)

Local governments in China, including the governments of Guangdong, Fujian and Shanghai, are chomping at the bit to participate in China's New Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (Belt and Road) initiatives, according to Beijing-based Economic Information Daily.

Sun Xuegong, deputy director of the Institute of Economic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), revealed more details of the initiatives in a recent briefing about China's offshore investment environment.

Regulators, including the NDRC, last month jointly issued the vision and an action plan for the Belt and Road, in which China said it is willing to cooperate with countries along the routes to jointly set up timetables and detailed regional cooperation plans. In the joint briefing, officials said domestic provincial governments will also need timetables and the central government will give further guidance on this.

Sun said the plan chiefly focuses on external proposals, while inside China, there will be an internal plan, which will be unveiled soon, including an integrated plan for the cooperation of regions in the nation.

During the process of pushing for the development of the Belt and Road, the government will try to take care of the interests of all sides and will also respect market principles, Sun said.

According to the vision and action plan, 18 domestic provinces and regions have been named as key development zones earmarked for involvement in the Belt and Road initiatives. Xinjiang, for example, is a core region for the Silk Road Economic Belt. The region will deepen communication and cooperation with countries in Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia.

While Fujian is a core region for developing the Maritime Silk Road.

Ou Xiaoli, the NDRC's inspector of the western region, said domestic governments must complete their action plans to link up with the national plan by October at the latest.

Currently, Jiangsu has completed its internal plan, and will soon submit it to the central government for approval, while Guangdong, Fujian and Shanghai have already drafted the broad strokes of their plan.

Shanghai will become the pioneer for the plan via building trade networks, participating in the setting of investment and trade standards and gathering international investment and trade service institutions. Fujian aims to be a pioneer for the Maritime Silk Road by supporting the development of Quanzhou. Guangdong has already initiated dozens of projects related to the Belt and Road initiatives.