By Ma Fei, People’s Daily
Connectivity remains fundamental to human progress and is central to building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.
For years, China has actively promoted comprehensive regional integration, aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with partner nations’ development strategies. This collaboration injects new momentum into fostering an open, innovative, and interconnected Asia-Pacific economy grounded in shared interests..
A pivotal moment came in 2014 during the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting at Beijing’s Yanqi Lake, where the APEC Connectivity Blueprint 2015-2025 was adopted. This landmark framework established clear direction for regional connectivity cooperation.
Since then, APEC economies have advanced infrastructure development, streamlined cross-border flows of people, goods, capital, and data, and built a multi-tiered connectivity network across the region – achieving significant collective progress.
While APEC members pursue diverse development paths, strengthening regional connectivity remains a unifying goal.
Carlos Aquino, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the National University of San Marcos in Peru, noted that China’s active promotion of regional cooperation mechanisms and the country’s vision of connectivity, mutual benefit, and open collaboration have gained wide recognition, creating new opportunities for regional economies in areas such as infrastructure, green transition, and digital economy.
China has been a key participant and promoter of Asia-Pacific cooperation, actively aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with other regional and national strategies. This has not only strengthened the region’s economic arteries but also created broader platforms for connectivity.
This year, China and Vietnam launched a railway cooperation mechanism to achieve full standard-gauge rail connectivity between the two countries, expanding the vision of regional transport integration. A new cold-chain shipping route between Malaysia’s Kuantan Port and China’s Beibu Gulf Port has made two-way logistics more efficient. In Chile, the Route 5 highway operated by a Chinese company runs through the country’s main cherry-producing region, serving as a “sweet road” connecting bilateral trade.
China has also worked to promote policy coordination, regulatory alignment, and institutional innovation, removing barriers to regional cooperation and making the “connectivity of rules” smoother and more efficient.
At the Youyi Pass, also known as Friendship Pass, on the China-Vietnam border, truck drivers can clear customs within seconds through a streamlined system of pre-registration, self-scanning, and rapid verification – with an average inspection time of less than 15 seconds per vehicle.
Under a special supervision model launched by Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, fresh fruit from Thailand can reach Guangzhou, Guangdong province in as little as seven hours and Beijing within 30 hours.
Through the Asia-Pacific Model E-Port Network, the China (Shanghai) International Trade Single Window has established compliant end-to-end data links with other economies, optimizing customs data flows and creating a cross-border clearance channel based on trade, logistics, documentation, and customs data.
Connectivity is not only about infrastructure and trade; it is also about people-to-people ties. China has been actively promoting cultural and social exchanges to strengthen the bonds of friendship across the region.
The country has expanded its visa-free policy and introduced a series of measures to facilitate foreign visitors. In the first half of this year, 13.64 million foreigners entered China visa-free, a year-on-year increase of 53.9 percent.
China has strengthened regional cultural ties by hosting the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations and establishing Chinese Cultural Centers in countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand. Initiatives such as Chinese Film Festival and Happy Chinese New Year celebrations have fostered public understanding and built enduring goodwill, reinforcing the foundations of regional cooperation.
China is an important participant in regional cooperation and economic integration in the Asia-Pacific, a major trading partner for Asia-Pacific economies, and a key link in regional industrial and supply chains.
In the first three quarters of this year, China’s total import and export value reached 33.61 trillion yuan ($4.73 trillion), up 4 percent year on year, while 48,921 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, an increase of 16.2 percent.
China’s pursuit of high-level opening up enhances its foreign trade appeal and strengthens its capacity to attract foreign investment, fostering a more open and inclusive industrial and supply chain network across the Asia-Pacific.
Through major platforms such as the China International Import Expo, the China Import and Export Fair, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the China International Consumer Products Expo, and the China International Supply Chain Expo, China has turned “supply chains” into “chains of shared success” for international cooperation.
Wichai Kinchong Choi, a business development expert at the leading Thai bank Kasikornbank, said that in today’s uncertain global trade environment, China’s continued commitment to high-level opening up is highly encouraging. It will bring broader market, investment, and growth opportunities to all countries, fostering common development and shared prosperity, he added.
