Achieving unimpeded trade and strengthening trade cooperation is the key content of the "the Belt and Road" construction, and is also one of the important ways to promote the common development and prosperity of countries along the "the Belt and Road". Since the "the Belt and Road" initiative was put forward, China has made many positive progress in trade cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road, which is mainly reflected in the gradual strengthening of trade cooperation, further optimization of trade structure and continuous improvement of trade facilitation.

I. Countries along the "the Belt and Road" and their regional division

The countries along the "the Belt and Road" cover 65 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, accounting for more than 1/3 of the world's geographical area, more than 60% of the world's total population, and 31.5% of the world's GDP in 2017. The report divides 65 countries along the "the Belt and Road" into regions as shown in Table 1.

表1 “一带一路”沿线国家按区域划分

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Table 1 Countries along the "the Belt and Road" by region

II. Trade between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road"

（1） Overall trade situation of China's countries along the "the Belt and Road"

According to the statistics of the International Monetary Fund, from 2013 to 2017, the total trade volume of goods between China and the countries along the "the Belt and Road" fluctuated around US $1 trillion, accounting for 25.0% to 26.6% of the total trade volume between China and the world. Affected by sluggish world economic growth and falling commodity prices in the international market, the total trade volume between China and countries along the the Belt and Road declined by 11.1% in 2015, and continued to be sluggish in 2016. In 2017, the growth of trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road turned negative to positive, with the total trade volume reaching US $1093.601 billion, up 13.7% year on year, accounting for 26.6% of the total trade volume between China and the world (see Table 2 and Figure 1).

From the perspective of export and import structure, China has always maintained a dominant position. From 2013 to 2017, China's exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road" accounted for an average of 27.2% of China's total exports, while imports accounted for an average of 24.0% of China's total imports (see Figure 1). In 2013, China's trade surplus with countries along the "the Belt and Road" was $98.614 billion. In 2015, the trade surplus further widened, reaching a five-year high of $236.629 billion. In 2017, China's imports from countries along the "the Belt and Road" increased by 23.9%, exceeding the export growth by 16.5 percentage points. China's trade surplus with countries along the "the Belt and Road" began to shrink significantly.

表2 2013～2017年中国与“一带一路”沿线国家货物贸易额

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Table 2 Trade volume of goods between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road" from 2013 to 2017

Figure 1 Proportion of trade volume between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road" in China's global trade volume from 2013 to 2017

（2） Trade between China and regions and countries along the "the Belt and Road"

1. Regional situation

From the perspective of the cooperation of goods trade between China and the regions along the "the Belt and Road", Southeast Asia is the region with the largest trade scale with China, and the trade growth rate is fast. The trade volume between China and Southeast Asia in 2017 was $518.256 billion, an increase of 17.1% compared to 2013. At the same time, the trade volume between China and Southeast Asia accounted for 47.4% of the trade volume between China and all countries along the the Belt and Road from 42.6% in 2013. West Asia, North Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe ranked second and third respectively. In 2017, the trade volume between China and West Asia, North Africa, was 244.136 billion US dollars, accounting for 22.3%; The trade volume with Central and Eastern Europe is 161.511 billion US dollars, accounting for 14.8%. In addition, although the trade scale between China and South Asia, which ranks fourth, is not large, the trade growth is the fastest, with an average annual growth rate of 7.25% in bilateral trade in the past five years, exceeding the average annual growth rate of trade volume between China and Southeast Asia by 3 percentage points. Ranked last are Central Asia and East Asia, with trade volumes with China accounting for 3.3% and 0.6% respectively in 2017 (see Table 3 and Figure 2).

表3 2013～2017年中国与“一带一路”沿线各区域货物贸易额

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Table 3 Trade volume of goods between China and regions along the "the Belt and Road" from 2013 to 2017

Figure 2 Proportion of trade volume between China and regions along the "the Belt and Road" in 2017

In terms of exports, China has the largest export scale to the Southeast Asian region. In 2017, China's exports to Southeast Asia reached 282.895 billion US dollars, accounting for 44.1% of China's total exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road", followed by West Asia, North Africa and South Asia, accounting for 20% and 16.8% respectively (see Table 4). It should be noted that among the six regions along the "the Belt and Road", China's exports to South Asia have increased year by year, and the export share has increased the most, with a total increase of 3.6 percentage points in five years.

表4 2013～2017年中国对“一带一路”沿线各区域出口额

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Table 4 China's exports to regions along the "the Belt and Road" from 2013 to 2017

In terms of imports, Southeast Asia is still China's largest source of imports. In 2017, the import volume was US $235.361 billion, more than half of China's total imports from all countries along the "the Belt and Road", and the import growth rate was the fastest. In five years, the import volume increased by 18.3%, and the import share also increased by nearly 10 percentage points. West Asia, North Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe are the second and third largest sources of imports, respectively, with import proportions of 25.6% and 13.8% in 2017 (see Table 5).

In terms of import and export structure, China has a trade deficit with the East Asian region along the Belt and Road (Mongolia), but in most years it has a trade surplus with other regions, with the largest trade surplus with South Asia, which has been increasing year by year.

2. Country specific situation

In terms of countries, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ranked the top 10 countries in terms of trade volume between China and the "the Belt and Road" in 2017, accounting for 69.0% of the total trade volume between China and all countries along the route. Among them, the trade volume between China and Vietnam has grown the fastest, with a total increase of 87.7% from 2013 to 2017. Next are the Philippines and India, whose trade volume with China has increased by 35.1% and 29.0% respectively over the past five years (see Figure 3 and Table 6).

表5 2013～2017年中国自“一带一路”沿线各区域进口额

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Table 5 China's imports from regions along the "the Belt and Road" from 2013 to 2017

Figure 3 Trade volume between China and major countries along the "the Belt and Road" from 2013 to 2017

表6 2017年中国在“一带一路”沿线的十大出口目的国与进口来源国

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Table 6 China's Top 10 Export Destination Countries and Import Source Countries along the "the Belt and Road" in 2017

III. Structure of trade commodities between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road"

（1） Overall trade commodity structure between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road"

According to the classification standards of the ten major categories of products in the United Nations Standard Classification of International Trade (SITC), it can be found that China's exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road" are mainly SITC5- SITC8 products, that is, industrial manufactured goods. Among them, the export volume of machinery and transport equipment (SITC7) is the highest, reaching 264.2 billion US dollars in 2017, accounting for 41.2% of China's total exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road". Next are finished products (SITC6) and miscellaneous products (SITC8), which are mainly classified by raw materials. In 2017, the export value of these two types of products was 148.2 billion US dollars and 126 billion US dollars, accounting for 23.1% and 19.7% respectively. From 2013 to 2017, the structural changes of SITC7 showed an overall growth trend in both export value and export share, with the export share expanding by 3.2 percentage points over the five-year period; On the contrary, the export shares of SITC6 and SITC8 both showed a downward trend (see Figure 4).

Figure 4 China's overall export commodity structure to countries along the "the Belt and Road" from 2013 to 2017

In terms of import, China's share of primary products (SITC0-SITC4) imported from countries along the "the Belt and Road" is equal to that of industrial manufactured products (SITC5-SITC8). From Figure 5, it can be seen that China's import share of primary products is continuously decreasing, from 56.6% in 2013 to 45.3% in 2017, while the import share of industrial manufactured goods is on the rise, from 41.1% in 2013 to 48.1% in 2017. Among the top ten categories of products, mineral fuels, lubricants, and related raw materials (SITC3) and machinery and transportation equipment (SITC7) have a larger import share, accounting for about 60% of all exported goods. Among them, the import share of SITC3 has been gradually declining over the past five years, while the import share of SITC7 has shown an upward trend.

Figure 5 The overall structure of China's imports from countries along the "the Belt and Road" from 2013 to 2017

（2） Commodity trade structure between China and various regions along the "the Belt and Road"

1. East Asia

In terms of exports, industrial manufactured goods account for about 80% of China's exports to East Asia (including Mongolia only), mainly concentrated in the export of machinery and transportation equipment (SITC7), manufactured goods mainly classified by raw materials (SITC6), and miscellaneous products (SITC8). In 2017, China's exports of three types of products to Mongolia amounted to $500 million, $296 million, and $106 million, respectively, accounting for 40.5%, 24.0%, and 8.6% of China's total exports to Mongolia. From the perspective of changes in commodity structure, the proportion of SITC7 exported from China to Mongolia has significantly increased from 2013 to 2017, with the share increasing by nearly 15 percentage points over the past five years; The export shares of SICT6 and SITC8 have both decreased (see Figure 6).

Figure 6 Structure of China's exports to the "the Belt and Road" East Asia region (including Mongolia only) from 2013 to 2017

The structure of goods imported by China from Mongolia is relatively single, with imports of non edible raw materials (SITC2) and mineral fuels, lubricants, and related raw materials (SITC3) alone accounting for over 95% of the total imports. Among them, SITC2 imports account for a relatively large proportion, but have shown a downward trend in the past two years; The import value and share of SITC3 have shown an upward trend in the past two years (see Figure 7).

Figure 7 Structure of China's imports from the "the Belt and Road" East Asia region (including Mongolia only) from 2013 to 2017

2. Southeast Asia

Nearly 90% of China's exports to the "the Belt and Road" Southeast Asia region are industrial products. The most exported product among them is machinery and transportation equipment (SITC7), with an export value of 113.164 billion US dollars in 2017, accounting for 40.0%. Next are finished products (SITC6) and miscellaneous products (SITC8) mainly classified by raw materials. In 2017, the export value of these two types of products was 69.145 billion US dollars and 42.356 billion US dollars, accounting for 24.4% and 15.0% of the total export value, respectively. From the perspective of changes in product structure, from 2013 to 2017, the export share of SITC7 showed a slight increase, while the share of SITC8 showed a significant decrease. At the same time, SITC6 has also shown a downward trend in the past two years (see Figure 8).

Figure 8 Structure of China's exports to the "the Belt and Road" Southeast Asia region from 2013 to 2017

China mainly imports machinery and transportation equipment (SITC7) from Southeast Asia, with an import value of $105.688 billion in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%. However, the import share has decreased from 46.9% the previous year to 44.9%. The import shares of the remaining products, in descending order, are mineral fuels, lubricants and related raw materials (SITC3) (accounting for 11.5%), non edible raw materials (SITC2) (accounting for 10.2%), unlisted chemicals and related products (SITC5) (accounting for 8.2%), miscellaneous products (SITC8) (accounting for 6.6%), and finished products mainly classified by raw materials (SITC6) (accounting for 5.1%) (see Figure 9).

Figure 9 Structure of China's imports from the "the Belt and Road" Southeast Asia region from 2013 to 2017

3. South Asia

Industrial manufactured goods account for over 96% of China's exports to South Asia, with the largest export being machinery and transportation equipment (SITC7). In 2017, the export value was 48.856 billion US dollars, accounting for 45.4% of the total export value. Next is the finished products mainly distributed by raw materials (SITC6), with an export value of 26.292 billion US dollars, accounting for 24.4%. From the perspective of changes in the export commodity structure, from 2013 to 2017, the export value of SITC7 has been increasing year by year, and its export share has also rapidly expanded. On the other hand, although the export value of SITC5, SITC6, and SITC8 products did not significantly decrease, their export share showed a shrinking trend (see Figure 10).

Figure 10 Structure of China's exports to the "the Belt and Road" South Asia region from 2013 to 2017

From the perspective of imports, China mainly imports finished products classified by raw materials (SITC6) and non edible raw materials (SITC2) from South Asia. In 2017, China's import scale for these two types of products was 8.486 billion US dollars (43.8%) and 4.049 billion US dollars (20.9%) respectively (see Figure 11).

Figure 11 Structure of China's imports from the "the Belt and Road" South Asia region from 2013 to 2017

4. Central Asia

China's exports to Central Asia are mainly concentrated in SITC6, SITC7, and SITC8 industrial products. Among them, SITC8 had the largest export scale, with an export value of 10.261 billion US dollars in 2017, accounting for 47.1%, and an increase of 16% in export value compared to 2013, an increase of 10.8 percentage points in proportion. The export shares of SITC6 and SITC7 are similar, with 22.5% and 23.3% respectively in 2017 (see Figure 12).

Figure 12 Structure of China's exports to the "the Belt and Road" Central Asia region from 2013 to 2017

China's imports from Central Asia are mainly concentrated in primary products, with the largest import scale being for mineral fuels, lubricants, and related raw materials (SITC3). However, in recent years, China's imports of SITC3 have significantly decreased. In 2017, the amount of SITC3 products imported by China was 8.358 billion US dollars, a decrease of more than half compared to 2013. At the same time, its export share has also declined significantly, from 73.5% in 2013 to 57.5% in 2017. The share of China's imports of non food raw materials (SITC2), unlisted chemicals and related products (SITC5), and manufactured goods mainly classified by raw materials (SITC6) from Central Asia has all increased (see Figure 13).

Figure 13 Structure of China's imports from the "the Belt and Road" Central Asia region from 2013 to 2017

5. West Asia and North Africa

The export structure of China to West Asia and North Africa is similar to that of Central Asia, with exports also concentrated in three categories of industrial products: SITC6, SITC7, and SITC8. Among them, SITC7 has the highest export value, reaching 50.277 billion US dollars in 2017, accounting for 39.2%; The export scale of SITC6 and SITC8 is similar, with exports of 33.127 billion US dollars (25.8%) and 31.775 billion US dollars (24.8%) respectively in 2017. From the perspective of changes in export structure, the share of SITC7 exports has been increasing year by year, while the share of SITC6 and SITC8 exports has been decreasing year by year (see Figure 14).

Figure 14 Structure of China's exports to the "the Belt and Road" region in West Asia and North Africa from 2013 to 2017

From the perspective of import structure, China mainly imports the third category of products, namely mineral fuels, lubricants, and related raw materials (SITC3), from West Asia and North Africa. Its import value in 2017 was 83.93 billion US dollars, accounting for 72.5% of China's total imports from West Asia and North Africa. Next is unlisted chemicals and related products (SITC5), with imports accounting for 17.3%. From the perspective of five-year structural changes, although China mainly imports energy products from West Asia and North Africa, the proportion of imports has been decreasing year by year (see Figure 15).

Figure 15 Structure of China's imports from the "the Belt and Road" region in West Asia and North Africa from 2013 to 2017

6. Central and Eastern Europe

China's exports to Central and Eastern Europe are also concentrated in three types of products: SITC6, SITC7, and SITC8. Among them, SITC7 has the largest proportion of exports, accounting for over 40% in the past five years and showing an upward trend. In addition, SITC8 and SITC6 had larger export volumes, with export shares of 28.8% and 14.9% respectively in 2017. Although the export value of both types of products increased compared to the previous year, their export shares showed a slight decline (see Figure 16).

Figure 16 Structure of China's exports to the "the Belt and Road" Central and Eastern Europe region from 2013 to 2017

More than half of China's imports from Central and Eastern Europe are primary products, with the most important imported products being mineral fuels, lubricants, and related raw materials (SITC3). In 2017, the import value of such products was 27.496 billion US dollars, accounting for 44.0% of China's total imports from Central and Eastern Europe. Among industrial manufactured goods, China mainly imports machinery and transportation equipment (SITC7), with an import value of 11.909 billion US dollars in 2017, accounting for 19.1% (see Figure 17).

Figure 17 Structure of China's imports from the "the Belt and Road" Central and Eastern Europe region from 2013 to 2017

IV. Trade facilitation and the construction of free trade zones in China and countries along the "the Belt and Road"

The development of the above trade cooperation is closely related to the trade facilitation cooperation between China and countries along the the Belt and Road. This includes not only the trade cooperation agreement signed between China and the Eurasian Economic Union on May 17, 2018, but also a series of other bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements. The construction of the free trade zone is the main focus to promote trade development and trade facilitation cooperation in the process of the "the Belt and Road" construction.

（1） Construction of Free Trade Zones within China

Since the official establishment of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone in September 2013, a total of 12 pilot free trade zones have been established in China with the approval of the State Council. The China Pilot Free Trade Zone integrates institutional innovation with reform and opening up, takes promoting trade and investment liberalization as the core idea, and has played a demonstration role in promoting trade facilitation nationwide and laid a solid foundation for achieving smooth trade along the "the Belt and Road" by implementing various measures such as national treatment plus negative list before foreign investment access, building a "single window" for international trade, and innovating the comprehensive trade supervision system. The construction status of China's pilot free trade zones is shown in Table 7.

表7 中国自由贸易试验区建设情况

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Table 7 Construction of China's Pilot Free Trade Zones

（2） Construction of free trade zones between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road"

As of now, China has signed a total of 17 free trade zone agreements, covering 25 countries and regions (see Table 8). There are 14 free trade zone agreements currently under negotiation, covering 33 countries and regions (see Table 9). In addition, there are a total of 8 free trade zones under study for construction and upgrading of free trade agreements.

表8 中国已签订的自由贸易协定

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Table 8 Free Trade Agreements Signed by China

表9 中国正在进行的自贸协定谈判

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Table 9: China's ongoing free trade agreement negotiations

Among all free trade agreements in China, there are 7 free trade agreements signed by countries along the "the Belt and Road", 7 free trade agreements under negotiation, and 3 free trade zones under research and construction, covering 28 countries along the "the Belt and Road".

1. The signing of trade agreements between China and East Asian countries

At present, China and Mongolia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia on launching a joint feasibility study on the China Mongolia Free Trade Agreement, representing the official start of the construction process of the free trade zone between the two countries. The trade between China and Mongolia has grown rapidly in the past two years. In 2017, the trade volume between China and Mongolia reached 6.361 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 40.49%. The construction of the China Mongolia Free Trade Zone will be further expanded in the future, strengthening cooperation between the two sides in agriculture, animal husbandry, economy and trade, tourism, infrastructure and other fields.

2. The signing of trade agreements between China and Southeast Asian countries

There are four free trade agreements signed between China and Southeast Asia, namely the China ASEAN Free Trade and Investment Agreement, the China ASEAN ("10+1") Upgrade, the China Singapore Free Trade Agreement, and the China Singapore Free Trade Agreement Upgrade. There is one free trade agreement currently under negotiation, namely the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

(1) China ASEAN Free Trade and Investment Agreement

The negotiation of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area began in 2002. Over the course of seven years, the two sides successively signed the China ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Framework Agreement"), the China ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on Trade in Goods, the Dispute Settlement Mechanism Agreement, the China ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on Trade in Services, and the China ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on Investment. On January 1, 2010, the China ASEAN Free Trade Area was fully established. The Framework Agreement between China and ASEAN mainly covers areas such as trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and economic cooperation. In terms of goods trade, China and the six old ASEAN member countries will implement zero tariffs on 90% of products, and the new member countries will also achieve the goal of 90% zero tariffs by 2015. At the same time, China has promised to reduce the average tariff level for the six old members of ASEAN from 9.8% to 0.1%; These six countries will also reduce their average tariff on China from 12.8% to 0.6%. Both sides will further enhance their level of openness in service trade. With the increasing liberalization of trade within the China ASEAN Free Trade Area, the efficiency of the flow of production factors such as capital, technology, and talent between the two sides will continue to improve, and regional economic integration will reach an unprecedented level.

(2) China ASEAN ("10+1") Upgrade

In order to further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, China and ASEAN officially launched negotiations on upgrading the Free Trade Area in August 2004. After two rounds of upgrading negotiations, China and ASEAN signed the "Protocol between the People's Republic of China and ASEAN on Amending the China ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and Some of its Agreements" (referred to as the "Protocol"). The Protocol is a supplement, improvement, and enhancement to the original agreement, thereby continuously deepening cooperation between the two sides in areas such as goods trade, service trade, investment, and economic and technological cooperation.

(3) China Singapore Free Trade Agreement

China and Singapore signed the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Singapore on October 23, 2008, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Singapore on Bilateral Labor Cooperation. On the basis of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area, the Agreement further accelerates the process of liberalization of goods trade between China and Singapore, expands the market access scope of service trade, reduces personnel mobility barriers, and simplifies customs procedures, thereby promoting the continuous deepening of trade facilitation and economic and trade cooperation between China and Singapore.

(4) Upgrading the China Singapore Free Trade Agreement

On November 12, 2018, China and Singapore signed the "Protocol to Upgrade the Free Trade Agreement", which upgraded six areas of the original free trade agreement, including rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade remedies, service trade, investment, and economic cooperation, further improving the level of bilateral trade facilitation. At the same time, it also added topics in three areas: e-commerce, competition policy, and environment, achieving broader and deeper economic and trade cooperation.

(5) Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a regional free trade pilot zone jointly promoted by the ten ASEAN countries and China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand. It has undergone 23 rounds of negotiations and is expected to reach an agreement in 2019. Once the agreement is reached, RCEP will become the free trade pilot zone in the Asia Pacific region with the largest number of members and the largest impact, with a population of about 3.5 billion, accounting for nearly half of the world's population. In addition to the ten ASEAN countries and India along the "the Belt and Road", South Korea and New Zealand have also joined the "the Belt and Road", so the completion of RCEP will lay a solid foundation for the smooth trade and trade facilitation of the "the Belt and Road" countries.

3. The signing of trade agreements between China and South Asian countries

There are two free trade agreements signed between China and South Asian countries, namely the China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement and the China Maldives Free Trade Agreement. There are also two free trade agreements currently under negotiation, namely the China Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and the China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement Phase II. In addition, China, Bangladesh, and Nepal are also expected to initiate the construction process of free trade zones in the future.

(1) China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement and Phase II Negotiations

After China and Pakistan signed a preferential trade arrangement in November 2003, they successively signed the "China Pakistan Early Harvest Plan for Free Trade Agreement", "China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement", "Supplementary Protocol to China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement", and "China Pakistan Free Trade Area Service Trade Agreement". China and Pakistan have achieved tremendous results in reducing tariffs on goods trade, opening up service markets, and improving the trade and investment environment.

According to the content of the China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, the tax reduction for all goods between China and Pakistan will be carried out in two stages. In the first stage, within 5 years after the agreement comes into effect, both parties will implement tax reductions for products that account for 85% of their respective tax items at different rates, with 35% of products having their tariffs reduced to zero within 3 years. The second stage starts from the sixth year after the agreement takes effect, and both parties will further reduce taxes on their respective products.

As of 2018, China and Pakistan have held ten meetings on the second phase of negotiations for the free trade zone. During this period, the two sides signed the Banking Services Protocol of the China Pakistan Free Trade Area Service Trade Agreement, further opening up the banking industry to each other and providing conditions for promoting the liberalization of service trade.

(2) China Maldives Free Trade Agreement

China and Maldives signed the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Maldives in December 2017, which covers areas such as trade in goods, trade in services, customs and trade facilitation, and non-tariff measures. In terms of goods trade, both sides have committed to achieving significant tariff reductions. Maldives will ultimately eliminate tariffs on 95.6% of all tariff items, while China will also achieve zero tariffs on 95.4% of tariff items. In terms of trade in services, both sides will further open up some service markets and make commitments to market access, national treatment, and other aspects of trade in services. At the same time, both sides' customs will further strengthen cooperation and promote the development of trade facilitation by simplifying customs clearance procedures, reducing clearance costs, and other means.

(3) China Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement

China and Sri Lanka officially began the negotiation process for a free trade zone in September 2014, and five rounds of bilateral negotiations have ended in 2018. Both China and Sri Lanka are committed to building a China Sri Lanka Free Trade Zone from the aspects of trade facilitation, investment environment, and economic and technological cooperation, in order to create favorable conditions for deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation and achieving common development.

4. Signing of Free Trade Agreements between China and West Asian and North African Countries

China has signed one free trade agreement with West Asian and North African countries, namely the China Georgia Free Trade Agreement; There are three free trade agreements currently under negotiation, namely the China GCC Free Trade Agreement, the China Israel Free Trade Agreement, and the China Palestine Free Trade Agreement.

(1) China Georgia Free Trade Agreement

The Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Georgia was signed in May 2017 and came into effect on January 1, 2018. The China Georgia Free Trade Area Agreement is the first free trade agreement launched and reached after China put forward the "the Belt and Road" initiative, and also the first free trade area established between China and Eurasian countries. The China Georgia Free Trade Agreement covers 17 chapters, including trade in goods, trade in services, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, intellectual property rights, and cooperation areas. According to the content of the agreement, in terms of goods trade, Georgia should immediately implement zero tariffs on 96.5% of Chinese products, and China should implement zero tariffs on 93.9% of Georgian products, of which 90.9% of products should be immediately implemented with zero tariffs. In the field of trade in services, both sides have also committed to further increasing market openness.

(2) China GCC Free Trade Agreement

The China Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Area is the second free trade area negotiated by China after ASEAN. The negotiation process was launched in 2004, but the process was full of twists and turns. So far, the two sides have completed nine rounds of negotiations, but have not yet reached a free trade agreement. GCC members include six countries, namely the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. All of them are countries along the "the Belt and Road", and are also concentrated sources of China's oil and liquefied gas imports. Once the China Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Zone is established, the implementation of trade facilitation measures will increase the smoothness of trade between the two sides, enabling member countries to better leverage their comparative advantages and resource endowments, and deepen economic and trade cooperation among countries.

(3) China Israel Free Trade Agreement

Israel is a country along the "the Belt and Road" and an important partner of China in the Middle East. China and Israel officially announced the start of free trade zone negotiations in March 2016, and by 2018, they had conducted three rounds of negotiations. Both sides have made positive progress in areas such as goods trade, service trade, rules of origin and customs procedures, hygiene and phytosanitary, economic and technological cooperation, e-commerce, and dispute resolution.

(4) China Palestine Free Trade Agreement

China and Palestine jointly signed a memorandum of understanding on October 23, 2018, officially launching negotiations on a free trade zone. In recent years, significant achievements have been made in economic and trade cooperation between China and Pakistan, with a noticeable increase in bilateral trade. In 2017, the bilateral trade volume between China and Pakistan reached 69.28 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%. Once the China Pakistan Free Trade Zone is reached, it will also promote further deepening of bilateral trade cooperation and achieve the goal of common development on the basis of leveraging the comparative advantages of all parties.

5. Signing of Free Trade Agreements between China and Central and Eastern European Countries

There is currently only one free trade zone under negotiation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, namely the China Moldova Free Trade Zone. China and Moldova signed a memorandum of understanding for the negotiation of a free trade agreement in December 2017, officially launching bilateral free trade agreement negotiations. The first round of negotiations between China and Morocco was held in March 2018, and consensus was reached on the subsequent negotiation route and specific tasks.

According to the current construction and development process of free trade zones between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road", first, China has signed the most free trade agreements with Southeast Asia, with the widest coverage and greatest influence. Meanwhile, the agreement was signed earlier and negotiations for upgrading the free trade agreement have already been completed. Therefore, the high level of trade facilitation has promoted the economic and trade cooperation between China and Southeast Asia. The data shows that the trade cooperation between China and Southeast Asia is the largest in the trade cooperation with various regions along the "the Belt and Road", and the growth rate is also fast. Secondly, China ranks second in the number of free trade agreements with South Asia (2 signed free trade agreements and 2 currently under negotiation). From the trade data between China and South Asia, it can be seen that although the bilateral trade scale is not large, the trade growth rate is the fastest. Thirdly, although there is only one signed free trade agreement between China and West Asia and North Africa, there are still three free trade agreements in the negotiation process, so there is enormous potential for the development of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides. From the trade data of the past five years, the trade volume between West Asia, North Africa and China ranks third, but it is one of the few regions with a negative average annual trade growth rate. In the future, the construction of the "the Belt and Road" and the construction and development of the free trade zone, especially the establishment of the China GCC Free Trade Zone, will promote the two sides to develop bilateral trade cooperation through higher levels of connectivity, so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. Fourthly, China has not signed any free trade agreements with Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia (Mongolia), and Central Asia. Currently, the Moldova Free Trade Zone between China and Central and Eastern Europe is in the negotiation process, and the China Mongolia Free Trade Zone is also under feasibility study. However, the establishment of free trade zones between China and Central Asian countries is still blank. From the perspective of trade data, apart from the rapid growth of trade between China and Mongolia in recent years, the growth rate of trade between China and Central and Eastern Europe has been relatively slow, with an average annual growth rate of only 1.68% in the past five years; The overall trade volume between China and Central Asian countries in the past five years has been negative, with a total decrease of 27.7% in trade volume in 2017 compared to 2013, and an average annual growth rate of -6.28%. It can be seen that the construction of free trade zones and the level of trade facilitation will have a huge impact on the economic and trade cooperation and development among member countries.

With the accession of South Korea, New Zealand, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama and other countries to the "the Belt and Road", the construction of free trade zones between China and these countries, whether completed or to be completed in the future, will play a huge role in promoting the deepening of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and the promotion of the "the Belt and Road" construction.

V. More countries join the "the Belt and Road" construction process

With the continuous promotion and popularity of the "the Belt and Road" initiative, more and more countries have shown great interest and enthusiasm in the "the Belt and Road" initiative advocated by China. According to the statistics on the official website of China's "the Belt and Road", as of November 20, 2018, the number of "the Belt and Road" countries has been updated to 123 (excluding China). In addition to the original 64 countries along the "the Belt and Road", 59 countries have successively signed cooperation agreements with China, becoming "the Belt and Road" countries. There are a total of 6 Asia Pacific countries, 3 European countries, 36 African countries, and 14 Latin American countries among the newly added countries (see Table 10). Among them, South Korea is China's fourth largest trading partner and the largest source of imports for China. In 2017, the trade volume between China and South Korea reached $280.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10%. The trade volume between China and New Zealand is also constantly reaching new highs. In 2017, China officially became New Zealand's largest trading partner and replaced Australia as New Zealand's largest export market as early as 2013.

With the accession of more countries, the increasing connectivity between the "the Belt and Road" countries, and the deepening of economic and trade cooperation, China will certainly lead the "the Belt and Road" countries on the path of common development and prosperity in line with the principle of joint consultation, joint construction, and sharing.

表10 新增“一带一路”国家名称

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Table 10 Newly added "the Belt and Road" country names