By Carey YANG Qiuyu, The Belt and Road Research Center, Qianhai Institute for Innovative Research (QIIR)

Before the Belt and Road Initiative, China has close trade relationship with Southeast Asian countries, especially ASEAN countries. With the completion of the ASEAN Economic Community in the end of 2015, the world's seventh largest economy with 640 million people will bring an unlimited potential market. The gradually maturing development of the ASEAN Economic Community has provided a great platform for the construction of 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The Belt and Road initiative also prioritizes the ASEAN countries during the development. That is to say, trade markets of ASEAN will all go into a rapid development phase for some time in the future.

Although the ASEAN economies have made unremitting efforts to improve the economy and trade of their members, their economic and trade conditions polarize seriously. Additionally, the volume of trade between member countries' and China is extremely unbalanced…..

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