Connectivity key to bolster links

By Zhong Nan (China Daily) Updated: 2014-11-07 07:52

The bank will be an inter-governmental regional development institution in Asia. As agreed, Beijing will be the host city for the AIIB's headquarters. It is expected that the prospective founding members will complete the signing and ratification of the articles of agreement in 2015 and the AIIB will be formally established by the end of 2015.

APEC economies, especially China, South Korea, Thailand and the United States, are keen to encourage people-to-people connectivity to drive advances in the educational sector and assist member nations or regions to better respond to natural disasters such as extreme weather, earthquakes and tsunamis.

APEC developed a business travel card in 1996. Holders of the card can travel visa-free among APEC member economies.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plans have been made to set up an emergency response travel card to allow for fast response by APEC member economies to disaster zones to facilitate local economic and infrastructure recovery.

Zhang Shaogang, director-general of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce, said that improving connectivity among governments, multinational corporations and influential academic institutions can be a way to optimize the industrial structure.

"To help small economies in the region, APEC economies such as China, the US, Australia and Japan should share their best practices in the areas of transportation infrastructure, investment and operations," Zhang said.

However, regional connectivity means huge private and government investment in infrastructure and ancillary projects, and raising funds takes time.

In the current global economy, Zhang said the risks may stay high, as there are heavy concerns about the feasibility and profitability of large-scale building and bridge projects.