Economic globalization and regional economic integration that have greatly pushed forward the global economic cooperation and development are also the tendency of international economic development in the future. The ASEAN Charter signed by state leaders of 10 ASEAN nations in November 2007 clearly stated the objective of establishing ASEAN Community by 2015. China and ASEAN nations are close neighbors with convenient and frequent people-to-people exchanges. On Jan. 1, 2010, China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was completed, highlighting the role and position of China and ASEAN in global economic development. In such context, China and ASEAN nations have experienced comprehensive development in their friendly relations covering politics, economy, security, science and technology, culture, education and society, laying a solid foundation for the future cooperation between the two sides and ensuring the further development of their economic and trade cooperation.

Sub-regional cooperation is an integral part of China-AESAN economic and trade cooperation. GMS is one successful example of sub-regional cooperation between China and ASEAN, and its members have had cooperation in the nine priority sectors including transport, strongly driving their economic and social development. At present, the GMS members have seen the greater infrastructure connectivity, fewer barriers and restrictions in cross-border transport, investment and trade and substantially growing FDI and intra-sub-regional export volume. Consequently, they have gained visible benefits. Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor (NSEC), the extension of the North-South Economic Corridor in GMS, is the artery of transport on land and the important carrier of economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN. The countries along NSEC can join hands to greatly develop transport, tourism, economy and trade alongside on the basis of constructing and improving the infrastructure like railway and expressway that connect China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, thus NSEC will help considerably promote the development and prosperity of these countries and even Myanmar and Indonesia as well. As a result, China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation and the intra-ASEAN connectivity will be pushed to a higher level.

In order to accelerate the development of NSEC, the delegation composed of the researchers and scholars from some Chinese research institutes and academic organizations visited Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and had meetings and discussions with their counterparts from the think-tanks of the above-mentioned countries from July 8 to 17, 2010. The researchers all agreed that NSEC would be of great significance for furthering China-ASEAN cooperation and exchange and promoting the economic and social development alongside. We, hereby, solemnly put forward the proposal as follows:

I. Carrying out the feasibility study on NSEC. Establish a joint expert panel composed of researchers and scholars from think-tanks of the countries along NSEC to prepare on the basis of the relevant research and study on NSEC a feasibility study report.

II. Carrying out more cooperation on the planning and construction of transport infrastructure. In preparing the planning of transport infrastructure of its own, each country along NSEC needs to consider the connection between its transport infrastructure and that of its neighboring countries so as to improve the connectivity and the facilitation of cross-border passenger and cargo transportation and of customs clearance. The relevant countries are proposed to give in their planning priority to the construction of the railway and expressway along NSEC, to the cooperation on the Pan-Asia Railway and to the connection of transport infrastructure between neighboring countries.

III. Carrying out “Early Harvest” cooperation in some industries following the principles of “easy ones first, difficult ones later” and “benefiting all parties”. It’s proposed that the countries along NSEC, based on the existing transport infrastructure, carry out bilateral or multi-lateral cooperation first in international trade, international tourism, cross-border passenger and cargo transportation that are easy to achieve results so that NSEC can play its role as soon as possible to benefit the people alongside.

IV. Establishing appropriate cooperative mechanism. It’s proposed to establish the multi-level cooperative mechanisms on NSEC under the framework of China-ASEAN cooperation. The ones that can be established first include the think-tank cooperation forum, the tourist cooperative mechanism, and the logistics cooperative mechanism.

V. Gradually implementing facilitative measures on customs clearance for passenger and cargo transportation. GMS members have implemented along the East-West Corridor the Memorandum of Understanding on the GMS Agreement on the Facilitation of Transnational Passenger and Cargo Transportation and the GMS Agreement on the Facilitation of Transnational Passenger and Cargo Transportation, and positive effects have been made. It’s proposed to expand the utilization of the GMS facilitative measures on passenger and cargo transportation to NSEC so that Malaysia and Singapore can be covered.

It’s hoped that the above-mentioned proposals can receive understanding, response and support from the national governments, organizations and all walks of life along NSEC for the benefits of all the relevant people in early days.

China Institute of International Studies Institute of Comprehensive Transport under the National Development and Reform Commission of China

Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce of China

Economic and Planning Research Institute of the Ministry of Railway of China

Economic Research Department of the Export-Import Bank of China

Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences

Guangxi Institute of Beibu Gulf Development

Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences

Central Institute for Economic Management of Vietnam

Lao Academy of Social Sciences

Thailand Development Research Institute

Huachiew Chalermprakiet University of Thailand

Institute of Strategic and International Studies of Malaysia

Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute of Malaysia

East Asian Institute under the National University of Singapore

July, 2010