Khalid Malik, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in China, hopes that UNDP's the Silk Road Initiative will enhance the cooperation between China and the five central Asian countries by restoring the ancient Silk Road.

China and the five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, have long been making efforts for further cooperation in the oil and energy industries. Last August, China acquired the PetroKakhastan and a gas pipeline that links the two countries together.

In his latest visit to Beijing in early April this year, Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Miyazov proposed a natural gas pipe that will stretch from Amu Darya in Turkmenistan to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China.

China and the Central Asian countries both stand to benefit from the former's demand for energy and the latter's ambition for development. In actual fact, oil and natural gas are not the only resources that Central Asia can provide - broader and closer cooperation with China will bring greater prosperity to the region.

Since independence was declared in 1991, the Central Asian nations have been working hard on expanding their foreign trade and investment. The Silk Road Investment Forum, to be held in Xi'an, China's North-West Shannxi Province, on June 7, reflects the desire for better cooperation prospects in the future.

The Silk Road has served as the exclusive business channel for centuries, bridging the Occidental Roman Empire and the Oriental China in ancient times. Merchants traded silk, precious metal, jade and other commodities via this route. Handicraftsmen created numerous works of having been inspired by the cultural exchanges along the route. Diplomats sought political alliance and spread their religious beliefs through this route. The Silk Road enjoyed unprecedented boom during this time.

Now it is time to awaken the ancient trade path which brought Marco Polo to China from a dormancy that has lasted too long and restore it to its former glory.

The Central Asian countries are rich in mineral, agricultural and hydropower resources. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are major exporters of aluminum and gold. An effective exploitation of the water resources in these two countries could thus fully meet the demands of the hydropower in the region.

The population of 5 million people in the five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, represent innovative and high quality human resources.

The region is the huge potential market for Chinese products and her most important potential trading partner in Central Asia.

It would therefore be in the interest of China to help the Central Asian Five to exploit its potentials, take advantage of its opportunities and build an infrastructure there.

Stable and vigorous relations with the Central Asian region would also lead to stability along Chinese borders.

Despite bright prospects obstacles still exist including: transportation, lack of regulated procedures and coordination of trade rules. Freer border exchanges will facilitate in-coming and out-going tourism as well as transportation within or between regions.

An open Central Asia means a new, highly efficient Euro-Asia transportation channel that would save time and money whilst bringing more business to the region. A tourist visa for multiple destinations would make traveling around the region easier and promote local tourism.

All of these are goals that Silk Road Project will strive hard to achieve.

The ancient Silk Road is a paradigm of regional cooperation built on mutual respect to cultures, beliefs and free flow of both commodities and talents. Now that China and the Central Asian region have the opportunity of restoring the Silk Road, the demand and supply of energy in the region will be the first step toward closer ties.

All countries along the Silk Road will stand to benefit from exploiting the potential resources in the region. The new Silk Road - the continental land bridge, will connect Asia with the Middle East and Europe.

By People's Daily Online