The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a core area in the "21st- Century Maritime Silk Road."It is a priority neighborhood in China’s economic diplomacy, and China’s most important strategic partnership. Focusing on tasks of maritime economic cooperation and development, international logistics efficiency improvement, shipping lines construction and maintenance, key harbor cities cooperation, marine science and technology research and education, marine environmental protection cooperation, China and ASEAN will renew development of the "Maritime Silk Road”, upgrade China-ASEAN Free Trade Area on the basis of strategic platform of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). They will also boost trade and investment liberalization and facilitation; promote further financial cooperation and make a shift from economic integration to financial integration. Besides, bilateral and multilateral cooperation as well as regional and sub-regional cooperation will be coordinated through the strategy of interconnecting maritime infrastructure among China and ASEAN countries.

Zhang Jianping is Director of the International Cooperation Office of the Institute of International Economy at the National Development and Reform Commission, Research Fellow, Part-time Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of University of International Business and Economics, Vice Secretary General and Executive Director of the Council of China Asia-Pacific Society, Member of the councils of the Chinese Institute of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Association for International Understanding, and the Chinese Member of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. He has engaged in a number of studies, including international economic cooperation and Chinese foreign investment. He chaired more than 40 projects sponsored by Chinese government and local governments, and provided consultancy and research for the United Nations and World Bank. He studied at Peking University for bachelor and master’s degrees and received a doctor’s degree at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and post doctorate at the State Information Center.