Market Development and Policy for One Belt One Road

The Belt and Road initiative is marketed by the Chinese government as the “twenty-first century maritime Silk Road” and the “Silk Road economic belt”. The initiative encourages policy coordination, trade facilitation, financial integration, and transport connectivity. The Belt and Road initiative covers at least 65 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, involving 70% of the global population, 75% of world energy reserves and 55% of world GNP. Such an initiative is expected to bring significant impacts to the transport and logistics industry in the regions involved. The transport and logistics sector not only directly contributes to the production of transport and logistics services, but also provides essential inputs to other sectors such as tourism, trade, infrastructure investment and management. Therefore, it is important to jointly analyse the implications of the Belt and Road initiative to the transport and logistics sectors, the best strategies and operation practices that the industry can pursue, and the right government policies that should be implemented in relation to the initiative. To review the historical development and current status of the transport and logistics industries in the markets covered by the Belt and Road initiative, and to identify the determinants of market performances and industry policies To model the market mechanisms and firms’ decision-making patterns, thus that the effects of alternative business strategies and industry policies can be evaluated. These investigations will help stake-holders to identify the business opportunities brought by the Belt and Road initiative, and predict the associated implications and policy changes related to the transport and logistics industry To bring together studies on important issues that may have inter-related effects and influences. This is achieved by (a) analysing different modes of transport and logistics services (e.g. maritime and inland river transport, aviation, rail, and road transports); (b) investigating both regional and international markets that are covered by the Belt and Road initiatives, with a focus on Europe, China and Northeast Asia; (c) studying important issues related to business strategies, government regulation, social welfare and firm performances