The Research Proposal Meeting of "Research on the Competition and Complementarity of Trade in the Countries along the ‘Belt and Road’ " was Held Smoothly

In the morning of March 25, 2017, the research proposal meeting of Research on the Competition and Complementarity of Trade in the Countries along the ‘Belt and Road’ project, a key project of the National Social Science Foundation of China, was held in Wuhan University, Professor Chen Jiyong, head of the World Economic Research Institute of WHU, serves as the chief expert.

Professor Liu Haiyun from the School of Economics of Huazhong University of Science and Technology said that "agaist the backdrop of opening up to the outside world, we need urgently stragetic research on how to realize the guiding role of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. Currently, the academic circle tends to study competition and complementary relations at the industry level. In the future, research needs to be more targeted, and the measurement indicators also need to be microcosmic, the impact of the characteristics of competition and complementarity on the entire policy should be further clarified, and the assessment of trade policy and trade barriers should also be included in the influencing factors. We should also pay attention to the political risks, geopolitics and zero-sum game among major power of the ‘Belt and Road’, this initiative should not evolve into foreign aid. In the study of competition and complementarity, we should pay more attention to the analysis of welfare effect and trade interest, emphasize the study of enterprise mechanism and promote China to participate in global governance. In addition to theoretical significance, this project also offers practical relevance.

Researcher Wang Zhongmei from the Institute of the World Economic Research of the Shanghai Academy of Social Science pointed out that "'Belt and Road' initiative is an open strategy, which differs from the ‘rule-first’ principle of the United States. China's FTA lack of sound strategic layout, and China needs to come up with her own proposition as for how to use and expand the ‘Belt and Road’ and learn from the US FTA experience to drive regional economic development and supply chain.”