by Le Yanna, Bui Long
HANOI, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative, if it is implemented successfully, can become the Great Wall of the 21st century, connecting friends and partners to achieve stronger socioeconomic development, a Vietnamse expert said.
The Belt and Road Initiative, which shows China's vision, courage and even sacrifice, will surely benefit many countries including Vietnam, Nguyen Ngoc Truong, president of the Hanoi-based Center for Strategic Studies and International Development, told Xinhua on Friday.
"Without vision and courage, mankind would not have had enjoyed great works such as the pyramids in Egypt and the Great Wall in China, " Truong said on the sidelines of a symposium titled "Belt and Road Initiative: New Opportunities for Vietnam-China Cooperation" held by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Chinese embassy in Vietnam.
"If the Belt and Road Initiative is implemented successfully, it can become the Great Wall of the 21st century," Truong said, noting that the Great Wall built in the ancient time is to defend against enemies, but the future Great Wall is to connect friends and partners to achieve stronger socioeconomic development.
The biggest benefit of the Belt and Road Initiative is that it will connect many regions and countries in the world, especially in terms of infrastructure, such as seaports, railways and roads, he said, adding that Vietnam and China have recently witnessed progress in implementing the "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan, which connects northern Vietnam and southern China.
The Vietnamese expert expressed his strong belief that the initiative will become a huge success, not only because of its various advantages but also China's courage and determination.
Noting that China has made its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative amid many difficulties facing the world such as regional and global economic slowdown and issues of protectionism, the expert also believed that the initiative's great goals will be achieved.
To realize the initiative's major goals, Vietnam and China should, in the short term, join hands in conducting smaller cooperation programs and projects in the two countries, Truong proposed.
The two countries should quickly approve specific projects in the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle plan to upgrade not only Hai Phong Seaport (in Vietnam's northern region) but also key ports in the central and southern regions, as well as building a North-South high-speed rail route (in Vietnam), the expert further said.
He said he was very impressed when taking a high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai, which travels at a speed of some 350 km per hour.
To implement such projects, Vietnam needs China's financial assistance and use it efficiently, Truong said, suggesting that China could offer Vietnam soft loans at interest rates of 1.2 percent to 1.5 percent.
Dang Hoang Linh, deputy head of the Economics Faculty of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, shared the similar views.
Vietnam wants to have more resources, especially from financial sources from China, to develop its infrastructure, including its transportation axis, seaports, connecting axis, and West-East corridors, so that it can serve as a bridge in the region, Linh told Xinhua on the same occasion.
In addition to benefiting from such interconnected transport systems, Vietnam and many other countries will enjoy production booms along the Belt and Road route.
China's goods production and trade will boost small-scale production with the necessary technology in underdeveloped, rural areas of developing countries along the the route of the Belt and Road, he noted.
"This can be a starting point for the process of shifting from agriculture to the beginnings of industrialization and things will develop from there."
Addressing the symposium's closing, Le Hai Binh, vice president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said he highly appreciated the symposium, which introduced China's Belt and Road Initiative to scholars and the public more clearly and created conditions for seeking new cooperation opportunities between the two countries which will contribute to their closer relations.
Vietnam and many other countries are exploring opportunities as well as challenges potentially brought about by the initiative, he said, noting that they also welcome and support China's initiatives which are bringing about peace, stability and prosperity to the region and the world.
