Opportunity knocks in Silk Road plan

Federal Labor believes Australia should assess case-by-case potential involvement in Beijing's new silk road map - a mammoth transnational infrastructure plan.

Federal Labor believes there will be lots of opportunities for Australian business stemming from Beijing's new silk road map - a mammoth infrastructure building plan.

Beijing will host an international summit in mid-May about its One Belt, One Road initiative.

It's a transnational infrastructure building project that aims to connect the nation's underdeveloped regions to Europe up through Central Asia.

The second part of the plan is to connect fast-growing south-east Asian regions to China's southern provinces with ports and railway building.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has been on a trip to China this week.

"It's an initiative where there may well be many opportunities for Australian firms," she told ABC Radio.

"So we think we should assess on a case-by-case basis the opportunity for Australian business involvement in the projects."

Senator Wong said ruling out involvement from the get go was not sensible.

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo is expected to attend the summit in Beijing.

Australia and Beijing have been in talks since October on an agreement to link One Belt, One Road with the federal government's strategy to unlock the potential of northern Australia with major infrastructure projects.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world