China's Belt-Road initiative to establish Asia-Europe economic zone, strengthen integration: expert

The initiative is a response to the need for development and cooperation among Asian and European countries, and it shows that China is in a rapid transition from a mere participant in the international system to a provider of public goods, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said earlier this month.

"The Initiative is China's idea, but the opportunities it has created belong to the world," Wang said.

Djankov suggested it is good to start with infrastructure under the Belt and Road Initiative, as there are huge infrastructure needs along the "Belt and road" and China "has a lot of expertise" in both constructing and financing of infrastructure projects.

"China has a large comparative advantage in infrastructure. It is also a way to link these economies together, later then you can go to other sectors," he said.

Djankov believed European countries that are not members of the EU would benefit more from the Belt and Road Initiative at current stage, as these countries have large infrastructure needs but don't have sources of financing from the EU.

"That's where we have seen some already successful Belt and Road infrastructure projects, Serbia, Macedonia," he said, adding that Greece, Bulgaria, Slovakia and other EU member states are also interested in being part of this initiative for the sake of better connecting with high-growth Asian markets.

Compared with the TTIP trade talks that cover a number of more controversial areas, Djankov said European countries view it "more natural" to have "a potential stronger economic link" with China because of the existing significant trade volume between Europe and China and expanded trade opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative.

"This is a lot easier for European politicians to first understand and then tell to their electorates," he said. "The TTIP is not easy to understand, I think that's the reason why support for the Transatlantic Partnership has been relatively small in Europe."

"Odds are slim" that the TTIP negotiations will be completed before the end of the Obama administration, according to a new study by the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University released on Thursday.

"Some of the most intense transatlantic disagreements have arisen over differences in regulation policy. Issues such as food safety or environmental standards have strong public constituencies and are often extremely sensitive in the domestic political arena," the study said.

As European politicians and businessmen are also looking for ways to attract investment and expand trade to boost recovery in Europe, Djankov believed the Belt and Road Initiative can be "a significant contributor to economic growth in all Europe" in the next three years.

Statistics released by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce showed Chinese enterprises directly invested a total of $14.82 billion into 49 countries within the cooperation framework of the Belt and Road Initiative last year, up 18.2 percent compared with the previous year.