China's Xi Asks ASEAN Nations to Join in Building of 'Digital Silk Road'

Xi Jinping took the chance to push for greater digital unity among Southeast Asian nations in a recorded keynote at the China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, China, on Friday.

• The Chinese president said he would work toward greater cooperation among the 10 ASEAN nations, and promote a “digital Silk Road” in the region, according to the South China Morning Post.
• The speech comes in an apparent attempt to strengthen China's position locally, after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden said he would work with regional allies to take on China's might.
• Xi said, “China regards ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and a key area for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative” – a major infrastructure and economic development project underway since 2013.
• The bloc could work with China to establish a “China-ASEAN digital port to promote digital connectivity, and build a ‘digital Silk Road,'" the president said.
• So far there is no suggestion that the digitization proposal would use blockchain underpinnings, but Xi has previously touted the technology across the Chinese economy.
• According to the report, China has been trying to build closer ties with ASEAN countries – which include the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia – amid the trade war that developed under Donald Trump.
• ASEAN members were not initially universally keen on Xi’s proposed digital Silk Road, according to an international relations expert cited in the report.

See also: China Should Take Part in Creating Global Regulatory Framework for Digital Currency, Xi Says