MANILA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Asian regional cooperation, strengthened by newly merging economies' development in recent years in the region, will help propel China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to a higher-level, Zhou Xiaochuan, the vice chairman of the Boao Forum of Asia (BFA) told Xinhua in a recent interview.

At the first-ever BFA Conference held in the Philippine capital Manila on April 22-23, Zhou, the head of China's delegation, said the Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and has made remarkable achievements in the country's economic and social development.

"The Philippines and the rest of the ASEAN countries are strategically located in the intersection of the land and the sea especially along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road," Zhou said, adding that Southeast Asia is an important partner in building the BRI.

The Manila Conference came after the BFA annual conference 2019 in Bo'ao, Hainan Province, China in March and prior to the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation that will be held in Beijing on April 25-27.

As a leading Asia-based dialogue platform with a global outlook, Zhou said the BFA is an important forum that can promote BRI and benefit Asia.

The Manila conference is one example of China's efforts to build consensus on how BRI will further strengthen the economic linkages in the region, he said.

"With a huge population eager to build their respective countries rapidly, the BRI will help unlock the potential of emerging markets like Asian economies. And in return, the potential of Asian economies also could help promote the BRI with their broad market spaces."

The Progress of Asian Economic Integration Annual Report 2019, a report released by the BFA in March, noted that ASEAN countries have benefited from deeper regional integration in Asia.

"The BRI offers great opportunities to lower connectivity costs via investment in infrastructure capacity," reads the report.

Zhou stressed the importance of promoting Asian economic integration. "With the help of the BRI, I believe many portions of regional integration will be upgraded."

"The BFA will continue to promote connectivity within and beyond the region through better synergies among the BRI, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and other initiatives in a bid to effectively mobilize regional savings and capitalize on comparative advantages of each economy."

BFA, which was formally inaugurated in 2001, has become a high-end platform for dialogue among national governments, industrial and business circles, and academic circles of Asian and other countries on the important issues in Asia and even the whole world. Enditem

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