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Abstract
To construct the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is an important part of the grand Belt and Road Initiative proposed by the Chinese government, and China-ASEAN industry cooperation is one of the main content of implementing this proposal. The paper states the political, economic and cultural motives of China's proposal to construct the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and all aspects of the foundation that China-ASEAN industry cooperation already has - analyzing the advantages and opportunities that China-ASEAN industry cooperation possesses, addressing the actual progress, existing problems and current challenges that the industry cooperation faces, and finally presenting some suggestions for the improvement of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road construction and the amelioration of China-ASEAN industry cooperation.
Keywords: 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Belt and Road Initiative, China- ASEAN relations, industry cooperation
1. The Motives of China Proposing the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan on September 7th of 2013, he first raised the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt with European and Asian nations; and when he visited Indonesia on October 3rd of 2013, he then raised the initiative of jointly building the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road with ASEAN countries. These two grand initiatives together have since then been referred to as the Belt and Road Initiative. On March 28th of 2015, the Chinese government officially published the Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (hereinafter referred to as the Vision and Actions), which has rapidly grasped attentions from all over the world. The background of proposing the Belt and Road initiative, especially regarding "the Road" initiative, is based on two aspects: first, China has today become a major maritime country, and it is marching to become a great maritime power. This is incomparable to the 1990s, so maritime cooperation must be put on the agenda of China's foreign policy. Second, this initiative is mainly based on the unique maritime geographic location of Southeast Asia, and therefore is specifically targeting at ASEAN. The new Maritime Silk Road will be extended to the Indian Ocean and Europe, but ASEAN will still be the top priority.
The Belt and Road Initiative is not just a...