First, coordination across time. The Maritime Silk Road has its historical legacy that can be traced back to more that two millennia ago when the Chinese, Hindus, and Arabs exchanged goods through maritime sailing. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties (960-1368 AD), Quanzhou had become the largest oriental port, on a par with Alexandria of Egypt. Ten days ago, India launched the “Visit India Year 2015” campaign in Beijing. In his congratulatory video message, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "for several thousand years, India and China have together built inseparable bonds. When the ancient Chinese monk Xuan Zang paid his pilgrimage to India for Buddhist scriptures, he had been to my home state Gujarat. Upon his return, he had gone back to Xi'An, the hometown of the Chinese President Xi Jinping." Home to ancient civilizations, China and India have contributed enormously to the world in the past. In the 21st century for Asia, China and India will continue to join hands and contribute to the world development. To make the 21st Century Silk Road a success, we must tap into the our historical and cultural legacies, carry forward the spirit of peaceful cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefit and win-win, and boost the confidence of the Asian people in pioornering maritime exploration, development, and cooperation.
Second, coordination across space. The development of port cities constitutes an integral part of multiple international economic cooperation corridors, including the new Eurasian Continental Bridge, China-Mongolia-Russia, China-Central Asia-West Asia, and China-Indo China Peninsula corridors. On the other hand, the hinterland development and its transportation networks are also essential in supporting and sustaining major port cities and areas. We hope that the Belt and Road initiative will help realize the free flow of land and maritime economic factors, promote cultural exchange and mix between coastal and inland regions, and facilitate the development of safe and efficient land-and-sea major transportation channels, bringing forth common prosperity for both the coastal and inland population.
Third, coordination across borders. It is high time that we coordinated many of our national development strategies and plans. Coordination across the border does not mean that one country would have the power to decide for others or would let others to decide for oneself. Rather, we should find common ground and areas of cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, and work together to plan and facilitate joint projects of cooperation. For instance, Indonesia's development strategy to become a marine power, particularly its marine highway program put forward by President Joko Widodo, fits perfectly well with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, making ocean cooperation a new growth engine for the bilateral ties between China and Indonesia.
