A Study Of Economic And Trade Cooperation Of Sino-Central Asian Countries Under The New Silk Road

After the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States, new trends of regional economic integration emerge worldwide. The implementation of the US-led "Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement" and "Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement" will change the existing international trade and investment rules, finally reshaping the world trade map. United States has been promoting the establishment of TPP actively and winning over the countries neighboring China, which obviously demonstrate its intention to restrict the development of China. It is significant for China’s expanding of economy and enhancing of regional economic impact to associate with the west European market and get through the transport network of Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia.Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the conception of "the New Silk Road Economic Belt" during his Central Asia visiting in2013, which received general support from the countries along the New Silk Road Economic Belt. In recent years, the world economy has been suffering from the sluggish growth due to financial crisis and European debt crisis, while the countries along the New Silk Road face the same trouble. With the consensus of developing economy through promoting cooperation, China meets an excellent timing to construct the New Silk Road Economic Belt. Central Asia is the first zone of the new Silk Road Economic Belt construction. It is significant for the further construction of the New Silk Road Economic Belt to cooperate with the five Central Asian countries in economic and trade fields.The trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries expanded rapidly and the cooperation level improved continuously. The development of economic and trade cooperation of Sino-Central Asian countries is unbalanced and with the characteristics of domination of Sino-Kazakhstan trade and investment, the transform of manufactured goods which China exported to Central Asian Countries from low-mid to mid-high standard, remarkable achievement of energy cooperation, the broad prospects of cooperation in agriculture. During the economic and trade cooperation of Sino-Central Asian countries, the friendly political environment provides a guarantee for bilateral economy cooperation. Xinjiang has an obvious geographical and cultural advantage. The abundant energy resources and strategic location in Central Asian countries have made it the game field of powers. Russia, the United States, European Union, Japan, Korea, India and other countries have strengthen the cooperation with Central Asian Countries and formed the cooperation platform separately. China faced many competitors in Central Asia. In addition, in this region other factors have prevented China and Central Asian countries from deepening economic and trade cooperation, which includes China threat theory, limited economy function of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the degree of infrastructure’s facilitation needs to be improved further.The New Silk Road Economic Belt belongs to transnational economic belt. The New Silk Road Economic belt is not a closely integrated cooperative organization and will not break the existing regional institutional arrangements, which is quite different from the traditional model of regional cooperation. It achieves a wild regional cooperation by a flexible way. The construction of the New Silk Road Economic belt is conducive to China’s open west, forming a comprehensive open pattern to enhance the international influence, promoting the transfer and upgrading of China’s industry. It will also activate the domestic capital market and facilitate the internationalization of RMB. The construction of the New Silk Road Economic belt will contribute to the economic security and stability in Central Asian countries as well as the improvement of the industrial structure in Central Asia. It can also expand trade between Central Asian countries and Asia-Pacific and European countries. The construction of the New Silk Road Economic belt would create a favorable external environment for the economic and trade cooperation of Sino-Central Asian countries, promoting the cooperation in fields of trade, investment, currency and tourism.Based on introduction of trade and investment data of economic cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries, taking the consideration of the advantages and barriers of economic and trade cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries under the framework of the New Silk Road, this paper will recommend the following policy suggestions under the framework of the New Silk Road. To promote the economic and trade cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries, China should adhere to the "win-win" principle of cooperation and realize the common develop with the Central Asian countries in non-energy fields. China also should seek the opportunity to cooperate with Russia, America or European Union. China will be able to make full use of SCO in economic cooperation and cooperate with CAREC or Eurasian Economic Union. Besides, China could promote rail transport facilitation through the establishment of benefit sharing mechanism with the cooperation experience of Chongqing to Europe trains.