Jointly build an economic and trade innovation park to deepen cooperation between China and ASEAN

The reporter learned from the website of the Ministry of Commerce that the State Council recently approved the establishment of the China-Philippines Economic and Trade Innovation and Development Demonstration Park in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, and the establishment of the China-Indonesia Economic and Trade Innovation and Development Demonstration Park in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, and agreed in principle to the overall plan for the construction of the demonstration park.
The head of the Asia Division of the Ministry of Commerce said in the policy interpretation that the establishment of the demonstration park should be implemented step by step, and the development goals of the near, medium and distant three stages should be determined. By 2035, the China-Philippines Demonstration Park will have a complete international industrial service system, a complete foreign cooperation mechanism, and a window of economic and trade innovation and development. It will become a bridge and link for economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN countries such as the Philippines. The China-Indonesia Demonstration Park will eventually achieve a significant increase in its influence and competitiveness in the construction of the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road by 2035. The level of industrial development, open cooperation, innovation-driven and collaborative progress will be significantly improved, and the agglomeration function of industries and high-end elements will be significantly enhanced. It will become an important channel for trade and investment on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
The demonstration park deepens regional cooperation
China and ASEAN are each other's largest trading partners, and ASEAN is an important source and destination of China's foreign direct investment.  
This time, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the People's Government of Fujian Province, worked out the overall construction plan based on the China-Philippines and China-Indonesia "two countries and two parks" projects to jointly build the China-Philippines and China-Indonesia economic and trade innovation and development demonstration parks.
"Deepening regional or bilateral economic cooperation through the construction of the park is a practical measure to comprehensively implement the new development concept, coordinate development and security, and strengthen strategic docking based on the new stage of China's development." Zhang Xiaotao, dean of the School of International Economics and Trade of the Central University of Finance and Economics, director of the International Investment Research Center, and director of the Open Economic Development Research Center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Research Institute, said in an interview with the reporter from China Trade News, The construction of the economic and trade innovation and development demonstration park aims to further stimulate the potential of two-way trade and investment and create a new engine for regional economic growth by carrying out institutional and institutional innovation, focusing on the innovation of Sino-foreign cooperation, deepening the bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and Indonesia and the Philippines, promoting the efficient and coordinated development of industries, focusing on the construction of a modern industrial system, and actively serving the construction of a new development pattern, It is also conducive to promoting the construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0, as well as the integration and cooperation of regional industrial chain, supply chain and value chain.
It is reported that the overall plan of the China-Philippines Demonstration Park puts forward 16 tasks from four aspects: building a trade and investment park with complementary resources, creating a service trade platform for innovative development, exploring a new mode of industrial cooperation centered on scientific research and development, and building a new highland for service industry cooperation. The overall plan of the China-Indonesia Demonstration Park proposes 13 tasks from four aspects: establishing and improving the new China-Indonesia trade system, building a first-class international demonstration park, strengthening industrial investment cooperation, and promoting the interconnection between the two sides.
Fujian has advantages in building demonstration parks
Both the China-Philippines Demonstration Park and the China-Indonesia Demonstration Park are located in Fujian Province on the east coast of China. Why did the two demonstration parks settle in Fujian? Experts generally said that Fujian has great advantages in cooperation with ASEAN.
Zhang Xiaotao said that Fujian, born to the sea, is an important starting point of the "Maritime Silk Road". It also has the advantages of overlapping economic zones, pilot free trade zones, and the core area of the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", and is an important node and channel of the domestic and international double cycle. Fujian has a long history of friendly exchanges with ASEAN countries. ASEAN has become the main market for investment and trade in Fujian. Fujian and ASEAN have strong trade complementarity in terms of resources and commodity composition, which is convenient to expand bilateral economic and trade cooperation by using industrial structure complementarity. Moreover, Fujian businessmen have strong economic strength and influence in ASEAN and play an important role in deepening Fujian's cooperation with ASEAN.
Among them, the demonstration park of China and the Philippines is located in Zhangzhou, and the demonstration park of Indonesia is located in Fuzhou. Zhangzhou is an important node city of the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" and a key hometown of overseas Chinese in Fujian. There are many overseas Chinese. Its economic and trade cooperation with the Philippines has a long history and frequent exchanges. Fuzhou is also a well-known hometown of overseas Chinese and has a deep relationship with Indonesia. At present, more than 600000 overseas Chinese from Fuzhou live in Indonesia.
At the same time, the establishment of demonstration parks in Fujian also provides more new opportunities for economic and trade cooperation between Fujian and ASEAN. Yun Zongguo, assistant general manager of China International Economic Consulting Co., Ltd., said that by jointly building the economic and trade innovation and development demonstration park, local governments can find the convergence point of industrial structure evolution, economic and trade pattern adjustment and local economic and trade development, create unique park advantages, and create a new win-win economic and trade development pattern of "you have me, you have me" cooperation.
Wu Chongbo, a professor at the School of International Relations of Xiamen University, said that with the release of the policy dividend of RCEP, Fujian should also seize the opportunity of the implementation of RCEP, promote the construction of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, continue to track and promote the "two countries and two parks" projects between China, Indonesia and the Philippines, and create an industrial "connector" for Fujian's foreign cooperation.
Accelerate the construction of "two countries and two parks"
Both the China-Philippines Demonstration Park and the China-Indonesia Demonstration Park rely on the "two countries and two parks" project to prepare the overall construction plan. "Two countries and two parks" is a new mode of deepening international cooperation in China in recent years, that is, two sovereign countries set up industrial parks in each other's countries to strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
Taking the Sino-Indonesian "Two Countries and Two Parks" project as an example, China and Indonesia signed a memorandum of cooperation on the "Two Countries and Two Parks" project in January 2021. The Chinese side determined the Fuqing Yuanhong Investment Zone in Fuzhou City as the Chinese park. The Indonesian side adopted the model of one park and multiple zones, and determined the Mindan Industrial Park, Avina Industrial Park and Batang Industrial Park as the Indonesian side's cooperation parks. Since the signing of the memorandum, the China-Indonesia "two countries and two parks" project has been advancing at a high speed and pace. Among them, the construction of the Fuqing Yuanhong Investment Zone in the Chinese park has made new progress, such as the launching of the construction of the comprehensive logistics system of "two countries and two parks" in China and Indonesia, and the normalization of the operation of the offshore fishing landing point.
"The park not only serves the enterprises of the two countries, but also attracts investment from other ASEAN countries and even the world. It has formed a cooperation project of" going out and bringing in ". Zhang Xiaotao said that with the upgrading of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area and the implementation of RCEP, the establishment of" two countries and two parks "is a specific action to implement the the Belt and Road initiative jointly built by China in high quality and effectively connect the development strategy with the" the Belt and Road "countries, The "two countries and two parks" will integrate and upgrade the existing channels and add new impetus to regional cooperation and economic and trade cooperation. In the future, according to the overall plan of "two countries and two parks", we need to actively innovate the investment attraction mechanism, plan more major international two-way investment projects, and promote more leading enterprises in the industry, more large projects and good projects to be settled in both parks.