Blue Economic Passages

by+Li+Zhuoxi

To promote better maritime cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative， China has proposed a blueprint for three oceanic passages that collectively make the “blue economic passages” linking Asia and Africa， Oceania， Europe and other regions.

On June 20， 2017， Chinas National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） and State Oceanic Administration jointly issued the Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative （hereinafter referred to as the Vision）， outlining three “blue economic passages.” It was the first time the Chinese government proposed an international plan to speed up maritime cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative as well as one of the outcomes of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation after the publication of the Vision and Actions on Jointly Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road on March 28， 2015.

The Vision stresses Chinas willingness to conduct comprehensive maritime cooperation in multiple sectors with countries along the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road， to jointly establish an open and inclusive cooperative platform and to foster the development of a mutually-beneficial， win-win blue partnership that creates a “blue engine” for sustainable development.

According to the Vision， priority will be given to three blue economic passages. Ocean cooperation will focus on building the ChinaIndian Ocean-Africa-Mediterranean Sea Blue Economic Passage by linking the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor （westward from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean） and connecting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor（CPEC） and the Bangladesh-ChinaIndia-Myanmar Economic Corridor（BCIM-EC）. Also in the works is joint construction of the China-Oceania-South Pacific blue economic passage， which will stretch south from the South China Sea into the Pacific. Another blue economic passage is also to reach Europe via the Arctic Ocean.

According to the NDRC， cooperation in marketing， technology and information atop the shared ocean will be intensified as the world experiences a growing economic globalization and regional economic integration. Blue economic development has become consensus for the international community， and a movement towards more maritime cooperation and development has arrived. Enhancement of maritime cooperation has become the obvious choice to tighten economic ties among countries and accelerate mutual growth and collaboration.