China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have all along maintained peaceful co-existence, and now they are striving for peaceful development. It can be said "we have entered a new era of peaceful development, " veteran Myanmar journalist U Win Tin told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the eve of ASEAN Summit to be held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
U Win Tin, former director of the information section under Myanmar's Publicity Ministry, is now chief editor of the Union Daily, a paper run by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
He noted that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence advocated by China, Myanmar and India. The five principles have become an international norm guiding relations between countries. Widely accepted by ASEAN and the rest of the world, they have gone down in the history of contemporary international relations.
"The Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence have helped prevent a third world war until this day. Adhering to the five principles, both China and ASEAN have managed to live and develop in peace," U Win Tin said.
"Peaceful development requires that we help each other, seek mutually beneficial cooperation, common development and common prosperity," he added.
He said that ASEAN is a strong organization that contributes to stability and development not only in the region, but also in other parts of the world. Since it set the three major goals of establishing political community, economic community and socio- cultural community, ASEAN has now embarked on a final sprint toward these goals.
"While it is hard to say whether the goals can be fulfilled 100 percent, we are sure of their achievement on the whole," he said.
He noted that Myanmar became an ASEAN member in 1997 and served as its rotating chair in 2014, an indication that the country is in the process of integrating with the group. Myanmar's ASEAN membership is beneficial to both ASEAN and China as the country may well serve as a bridge of friendship connecting the two, he said.
Although Myanmar has lagged behind in economic development among ASEAN members, the country is in the process of economic restructuring and political reform, he said, noting that the past years had seen Myanmar's rapid economic growth.
Myanmar's great potential has prompted many countries to see it as an untapped market in Asia and to make investment with great zest. Although it takes time to see remarkable economic success, Myanmar stands great chance to become a moderately developed country in the region in five to 10 years, he said.
On the establishment of free trade areas, U Win Tin said Myanmar is still weak with its productive sector, which has given rise to some worries in the country. Amid economic regionalization and globalization, however, establishing free trade areas will become a major trend.
"Myanmar will be able to catch up with the growth of free trade area if we manage to boost its economic growth in line with the rules of a market economy," he said, adding that despite some challenges and difficulties, the country is confident of solving the problems that come along with the establishment of free trade areas through cooperation of mutual benefit and on an equal footing.
On subregional economic cooperation mechanism, U Win Tin said there are many regional mechanism such as ASEAN and ASEAN 10+1 as well as Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) For technical and economic cooperation, there are Greater Mekong Subregion-Economic Cooperation and economic cooperation among Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM).
He said Myanmar has attached equal importance to these mechanism and is willing to treat these countries as friends.
From a geopolitical and economic perspective, Myanmar lies at the central point as far as cooperation between China and ASEAN is concerned. The country is also in a crucial position in the cooperation mechanism of BCIM, he said.
He urged great push for the BCIM economic cooperation mechanism as it will boost the development of border areas that link the four countries, given the fact that China has a strong desire for cooperation and India has adopted a Look East policy to develop backward border areas.
Such cooperation would bring balanced development to economically backward border areas and contribute to their stability and growth and good neighborliness among these countries, he noted.
He praised Chinese leaders for their far-sightedness in proposing the concept of building a modern Silk Road for peaceful joint development. The Silk Road had served as a trade route which crossed both land and sea since ancient time.
He called on efforts to open up the modern Silk Road and make it a road of peaceful development and common prosperity and hoped that China will play a leading role in building this new Silk Road.
China's development and growth into a stronger power offers its neighbors as well as ASEAN and other nations an opportunity for development, U Win Tin said, expressing the hope that all countries will live in peace and stride together into a new era of peaceful development and common prosperity.
