The Mode of Economic Cooperation in the 'One Belt and One Road' Construction

In view of the regional economic cooperation and integration, this paper analyzes the strategic conception of “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”(“One Belt and One Road” for short) raised by the Chinese people. It firstly discusses the major regional cooperation mechanism and the evolution of the type in this conception. Secondly, it discusses the competitive and cooperative relationship between the construction of “One Belt and One Road” and the current regional cooperation mechanism. Also, the possible effect which may exert on the construction of the “One Belt and One Road” from the emerging regional cooperation mechanism is also analyzed. Thirdly, it elaborates on the way China should adopt to guarantee the smooth implementation of “One Belt and One Road” by making use of the current regional cooperation mechanisms and cooperating with the ones that China has not yet participated. The result of this paper shows that China has been facing with two options currently in the construction of “One Belt and One Road.” One is through the strategic means of free trade area, and the other one is through the cooperative means of regional and subregional combination. From the perspective of the feasibility and the profitability, the construction of the “One Belt and One Road” should implement an innovative cooperation model, which, at the current stage, is not a supranational mechanism, nor a model at the same level with the Customs Union or the Economic Union; it should be, on the contrary, a platform for friendly cooperation which can provide the countries within the region with better economic exchanges and channel construction, a new idea and cooperative way to create better conditions and opportunities for collaboration among different countries, various mechanisms, and organizations. If conditions are right, it will form a higher and more extensive regional economic cooperation, including the institutional arrangements of the free trade area. Thus, this platform will promote the rejuvenation of the Silk Road and provide direct convenience to the integration of the region. This can also be called negative integration, a notion raised by Tinbergen, which is a development that seems to be doing nothing but can actually make contributions proactively.