ThenewmodelisimportantforChinatoupgradeitsindustrialsector,fordevelopingcountriestopromotetheirindustrializationandfueleconomicdevelopment,andfordevelopedcountriestoexplorenewterritoryforwin-wincooperation.ItcontributestojointlybuildingacommunitywithasharedfuturealongtheBeltandRoad.
NewImpetus
Theworldeconomyisnowstillcrippledbyproblemslikeunbalanceddevelopment,thewideninggapbetweentherichandthepoor,andantagonismbetweendifferentsocialgroups.Thus,economicglobalizationhasbeeninevitablyaccompaniedbyunstableanduncertainfactors,whichhaveputmanycountriesatacrossroadofchoices.However,thezero-sumgamementalityhascrampedreformoftheglobalgovernancesystemandstuntedsustainedprosperityoftheworldeconomy.Third-partymarketcooperationservesasaparagonofinternationalcooperationfeaturingmutualunderstandingandshareddevelopment.Underthismodel,thethreerelatedpartiesjointlycopewithchallengesandadoptnecessaryeconomicpoliciesthroughconsultationonanequalfootingwithallbenefitsshared.
ThirtyyearsofrapiddevelopmenthasshapedChinaintoacountrywithoneofthemostcompleteindustrialsectorsintheworld,sittingatthecoreoftheglobalindustrialchain.However,itisstillinthemiddlephaseofindustrializationwithitstechnicalleveltobeimprovedfurtherinmanyindustrialfields.Meanwhile,thevastnumberofdevelopingcountriesarestillintheinfancyofindustrializationwithstrongdemandsforinfrastructureconstructionandindustrialdevelopment,butcurbedbytheirlackoftechnologyandcapital.Third-partymarketcooperationcanhelpthemacquireequipmentandindustrialproductionlineswithbettercostperformance,boostlocaltechnologydevelopment,andcultivatelocaltalents,thusmeetingtheirneedsforindustrialdevelopmentandupgradingtheireconomicandsocialdevelopmentlevels.AtraincomingfromLinfenofChina鈥檚ShanxiProvincepullsoutofNorthHoumaRailwayStationboundforMunichofGermany.Developedcountriesarefacingtheproblemofinadequateendogenousimpetusforeconomicgrowthduetothewitheringmanufacturingsectorandinsufficientdemandsfromoverseasmarkets.Therefore,despitetheirpossessionofadvancedtechnologyandcoreequipment,developedcountriescan鈥檛effectivelytapintothemarketofthedevelopingworld,confinedbythehighcostcausedbytheirinadequatedomesticindustrialcapacity.Innovativethird-partymarketcooperationcanconnectsuppliesanddemandsofcountriesindifferentdevelopmentstages,integratingthehigh,middle,andlowendsoftheglobalindustrialchain,thusgeneratingnewimpetusforglobaleconomicgrowthandbenefitstoallsides.
Chinajoinshandswithdevelopedcountriesintappingintothemarketofdevelopingcountries,whichcancontributetotheformingofareasonableandefficientglobalindustrialpatternandupgradetheglobalindustrialchain.ThiscanbedonebycombiningthequalityindustrialcapacityandcompetitiveequipmentofChinaandthekeytechnologyandadvancedequipmentofdevelopedcountriestomeetmanydevelopingcountries鈥檔eedsforindustrializationandurbanization.
ACloseBond
Meetingtheneedsofcountriesindifferentdevelopmentstages,thecreativemodeloftripartitecooperationhasbeenwellreceivedbyamultitudeofdevelopinganddevelopedcountries.Overthepasttwoyears,ChinahasreachedconsensusonthirdpartymarketcooperationwithadozendevelopedcountriesincludingFrance,SouthKorea,Germany,Britain,Canada,Singapore,Belgium,andPortugal.Insuchfieldsasinfrastructure,energy,environmentalprotection,andfinance,theyhavecarriedoutinstitutionalizedcooperationandmadesubstantialprogressonarangeofmajorprojects.
Themostoutstandingachievementshavebeenmadeinthefieldsofnuclearpowerandhigh-speedrail.InSeptember2016,ChinaGeneralNuclearPowerCorporation(CGN)signedanagreementwithElectriciteDeFrance(EDF)forinvestmentinnuclearpowerprojectsintheU.K.tobuildtheHinkleyPointC(HPC)nuclearpowerstationandthetwofollow-upprojectsSizewellC(SZC)andBradwellB(BRB).FortheCGN-ledBRBproject,it鈥檚proposedtodeploytheHualongOne(HPR1000)technology.Thiscooperationbecamethefirstsuccessfulcaseforthemodeloftripartitecooperation.
InJune2016,ChinaandGermanyreleasedtheFourthRoundofChina-GermanyIntergovernmentalConsultationJointCommuniqu茅,voicingtheirsupportforthird-partymarketcooperationbyCRRCandSiemensinthehigh-speedrailfieldaswellasthatbyChinaRailwayandDeutscheBahninoperationandmaintenanceofbullettrainstravelingbetweenChinaandEuropeancountries.
Realcaseshaveshownthatthird-partymarketcooperationisfeasibleandhasbrightprospects.Nowtherelatedpartiesareworkingonestablishinganormalizedworkingmechanism,forminganetworkconnectinggovernments,enterprises,financialinstitutions,chambersofcommerce,thinktanks,andembassies,soastoshareinformationaboutpolicies,laws,andprojectsinthethirdmarket.Alltheseeffortswillhelptherelatedcountriestoformulatedetailedcooperationplans,focusonkeyprojects,andestablishaneffectiveserviceplatformforthird-partymarketcooperation.
Thetripartitecooperationmodelallowsadequateandeffectiveriskassessmentbeforehand,realizesefficientresourceallocationinvolvingabundantcapital,qualitycapacity,coreequipment,andkeytechnologies,andpromotesdeepintegrationofmarketsofdifferentcountries,thusmaximizingtheircommoninterestsandbenefitingall.Third-partymarketcooperationhasthepotentialtoeffectivelygalvanizetheslumpingworldeconomyinthewakeoftheinternationalfinancialcrisis.Itcanalsoefficientlyallocateglobalresources,reshapetheglobaldivisionoflabor,andadvancethereformofglobalgovernance,thusbondingtherelatedcountriesclosely,andformingacommunityofasharedfuture.
PromisingProspects
UndertheframeworkoftheBeltandRoadInitiative,third-partymarketcooperationpromisesbrightprospects.First,followingtheprinciplesofextensiveconsultation,jointcontribution,andsharedbenefits,inthetripartitecooperationmodel,Chinaanditspartnerscanrealizemoreefficientallocationofresources,includingcapitalandtechnologyinthethirdmarket,andpromotedeepintegrationofdifferentmarkets,thusachievingsharedbenefits.Second,alongtheBeltandRoad,countriesandregionshavedifferentadvantages.Forexample,China鈥檚strengthisshowninitsproductioncapacityandabundantcapital,developedcountriesownadvancedtechnologies,andavastnumberofdevelopingcountrieshaveahugemarketofdemands.Third-partymarketcooperationeffectivelyconnectsthethreesides,meetingtheirrespectivedevelopmentneeds.
TheAsianInfrastructureInvestmentBankandtheSilkRoadFundestablishedundertheframeworkoftheBeltandRoadInitiativeprovideacapitalguaranteeforthird-partymarketcooperation.AttheBeltandRoadForumforInternationalCooperationheldinMay2017,ChinesePresidentXiJinpingdeclaredthatChinawouldfurtherinstillRMB100billion(aboutUS$14.65billion)totheSilkRoadFundandencouragefinancialinstitutionstoconductoverseasRMBfundbusinesswithanestimatedamountofRMB300billion(US$43.94billion),providingfinancingsupportfortheBeltandRoadInitiative.TheChinaDevelopmentBankandExport-ImportBankofChinawillsetuptheBeltandRoadmulti-currencyspeciallendingschemes(US$36.6billionandUS$19billionequivalentrespectively)tosupportcooperationprojectsalongtheroutesoninfrastructure,industrialcapacity,andfinance.
Inaddressingtheconundrumofsluggishglobaleconomicrecovery,thetripartitecooperationmodelhaspropelledboththeSouth-SouthandSouth-Northcooperation.Thenewcooperationmodelischangingthetraditionalindustrialpatterninwhichresource-abundantcountriesproviderawmaterials,andChinamanufacturestheproductstobeconsumedbythedevelopedworld.Byconnectingneedsofcountriesindifferentdevelopmentstages,thenewcooperationmodelcontributestoth-eintegrationofthehigh,middle,andlowpartsoftheglobalindustrialchain,notonlygeneratingnewimpetusforworldeconomicgrowth,butprovidingnewopportunitiestocountriestogaindevelopmentandachievesharedbenefits.
Currently,third-partymarketcooperationispromisingbrightprospects.DevelopingcountriesalongtheBeltandRoadhaveagreatneedforinfrastructureinvestment,whichisthebasiceconomicmotiveforcooperation.China鈥檚cooperationwithFranceinnuclearpower,withGermanyinhigh-speedrail,andwithCanadainoilprojects,ispromotingthetripartitecooperationmodel.Meanwhile,China鈥檚economicdevelopmentandtheadvancementoftheBeltandRoadconstructionserveasaguaranteeforthesupplyofcapital,labor,andtechnologiesinfuturecooperation.
Byworkingtogetherwithdevelopedcountriesandinternationalorganizations,Chinaseekstooffernewideasandpublicgoods,andjointlyexplorethethird-partymarketthroughinter-governmentalcooperationandalliancesbetweenindustrialgiants.ChinaistryingtopresentitsplanoninternationalcooperationandcontributeChinesewisdomwhileblazingnewtrailsforcooperationandnurturingneweconomicgrowthpoints.
WUSIKEisChina鈥檚formerspecialenvoytotheMiddleEast.