By Wang Hai

Exploring the Potential For Cooperation

By Wang Hai

About the author: Wang Hai is a reporter with China Report ASEAN.

For media representatives from China and ASEAN alike, a 10-day journey in late October to eastern China’s Jiangsu Province and the southwestern province of Yunnan was not only a tour of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, but also a chance to seek new opportunities for cooperation between the two sides.

Learning from Experience

It was a crucial objective of the journey for the journalists to find potential for China-ASEAN cooperation in different areas in the new era. With that in mind, the journalists visited HOdo Group in Wuxi, Jiangsu, on Oct. 22.

HOdo is now closely associated with the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) under vigorous development in Sihanoukville in southern Cambodia. As a special economic zone jointly developed by a Chinese enterprise and the Cambodia International Investment Development Group, the Sihanoukville project has drawn high attention from both the Chinese and Cambodian governments. In this seaport that has been striving to become“Cambodia’s Shenzhen”, HOdo established the special economic zone and has made outstanding contributions to its development.

For HOdo Group, the SSEZ project is both an expansion of its business in the international market as well as a test of its operations and management capabilities in international investment cooperation projects. As the SSEZ area has changed from wilderness eight years ago to the modern international industrial park it is today, HOdo’s persistence has paid off.

Dai Yue’e, deputy board chairwoman of HOdo’s Cambodia branch, told the journalists that she has virtually made Cambodia her second home, feeling very positive about her experiences there.

“When we first arrived, the site was deserted,” Dai recalled. “All the infrastructure, including water and electricity, was built bit by bit. We were on our own to survive and work there.”

Having been in Cambodia for a number of years, Dai has often been mistaken as Cambodian by local citizens. The deserted land, meanwhile, has taken on a new look. The current SSEZ would not be what it is without the joint efforts of both China and Cambodia.

The journey took the journalists to six cities in two provinces, where they explored major educational exchange programs such as the Soochow University in Laos, jointly launched by the Chinese and Lao governments.

For most of the ASEAN journalists on the journey, this kind of experience is valuable. Reynaldo P. Galupo, a reporter with The Philippine Star, said: “It’s quite inspiring for Chinese enterprises like HOdo to share with us their experience in exploring international cooperation.This successful experience of a Chinese enterprise provides a paradigm for the enterprises of Southeast Asia. Such cooperation experience is very important for China and Cambodia. I think it’s also of tremendous value for other ASEAN countries.”

Creating Opportunities

Another major objective of the journey was to open up and explore new opportunities for China and ASEAN to cooperate within the framework of international production capacity cooperation.

On Oct. 25, the journalists visited the Yunnan International Company (YNIC) of the China Southern Power Grid (CSG) to gain a better understanding of CSG’s cooperation with ASEAN and to explore new cooperation opportunities. At the briefing, Si Shuming, board chairman of YNIC, introduced to the journalists CSG’s recent efforts in cooperating with ASEAN countries in grid connectivity, power trading, power plant development, project contracting, personnel training and other areas. Such cooperation has not only provided electricity, which boosted economic development in neighboring countries, but has also created further opportunities for China-ASEAN cooperation.

Workers at a plant of HOdo Group in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, on Oct. 22, 2016.

Having gained a better understanding of China-ASEAN cooperation in electricity production, ASEAN journalists looked optimistically toward the future of cooperation in the region. Dao Phuong Lam with the Vietnam News Agency said that China possesses a high advantage in power and energy sectors, which is very important for countries like Vietnam.

“Starting from cooperation in power, we should take into consideration China’s advantages and ASEAN’s practical needs to explore opportunities for future cooperation, including power infrastructure construction and other related projects,” Dao said.

Vannak Chea from Cambodia’s Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) voiced similar expectations. In his view, it’s important to bring current production capacity cooperation between China and ASEAN into full play. His main focus on this journey was to learn how the two sides can broaden the scope and upgrade the model of cooperation under new circumstances. He expects more contributions from powerful enterprises with cooperation experience, such as the CSG.

‘Going Global’ and‘Bringing in’

For Roseraghadah Binti Mohamad from The Brunei Times, the 10-day journey was tightly scheduled and fruitful. The journalists began their trip in Suzhou in the Yangtze River Delta and concluded in Dehong on the border with Myanmar. The journey took the journalists to six cities in two provinces, where they explored major educational exchange programs such as the Soochow University in Laos, jointly launched by the Chinese and Lao governments. They also explored“bridgeheads” of Maritime Silk Road cooperation such as the Taicang port and the Ruili land port. Also included in the visit were the Nanjing Phoenix Arts Group and the Yunnan Yinxing Motorcycle Company, each with its own characteristics.

The ASEAN journalists learned a lot from the event. This was not the first trip to China for Stephen Joel Paredes, a senior special correspondent with interaksyon.com (the Philippines). He first visited China in 1984, and over the past three decades, China’s change has been“big, surprising and incomparable,” he said, adding that he is deeply impressed by the speed with which China has developed.

“At present, China is establishing cooperation relations with other countries in the world, improving international cooperation initiatives. The Belt and Road Initiative provides opportunities not only for China, but also for other countries, which is good for common development,” Paredes said.

Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Center, organized and participated in the journey. She said this model of “bringing in” is essential.

“It’s very important to help more ASEAN people fully understand the Belt and Road Initiative by inviting friends from ASEAN media outlets to visit China,” Yang said. “This way, they can witness the development taking place here and find potential opportunities for cooperation. ”