Spotlight: Australian observers praise "Xinhua Silk Road" information products

China's vision for building massive infrastructure and a variety of development projects along the New Silk Road will be one of the biggest international projects in modern history, Australian experts have said.

The grand plan aims to reinvigorate one of the world's most ancient trade routes linking Asia to Europe.

The new one will cover more than 8,000 miles and create an economic zone extending more than one third the circumference of the earth.

But, an Australian academic specializing in China's economy said recently that there has been a lack of easily accessible information about the big picture for the New Silk Road, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative.

However, with Xinhua's formal launch of a new line of information products to help global investors from better partnerships along the Belt and Road Initiative on Thursday, that is about to change.

The package is internet-based and currently available in Chinese and English. It includes four major products and services - - the Silk Road Database, Xinhua Credit Reports, Consulting & Thintank Services and an interactive and business match-making Xinhua Silk Road IM System.

University of Technology Sydney professor James Laurenceson, deputy director of the Australia China Relations Institute, welcomed the move by Xinhua News Agency which has been China's most effective communicator around the world since 1931.

"I think it's important for a couple of reasons," he told Xinhua one day before the lauch of the information products.

"Firstly, the time for detail is now. I think the region is convinced by the merit of the proposal, the strategic vision and now what we need, what everyone is looking for, is the detail and I think Xinhua is ideally placed to provide that detail.

"The second thing is when you are talking about projects of this scale, big infrastructure projects across multiple countries, a one stop shop like the Xinhua is launching makes a lot of sense. You don't want to duplicate processes across many different countries."

Laurenceson said he is impressed with the broad vision of the New Silk Road and the massive potential it entails across its breadth.

He is academically across the broad details of the plan, and sees Xinhua's contribution to helping it reach fruition as a positive which cannot be ignored.

He said such centralization means interested investors or potential contributors won't have to go from government department to government department across the countries involved.

"A business forum, a hub one place where we can go, all the key stakeholders so that the companies that are actually building these projects, the banks that are looking to finance them, the governments that are looking to host them," Laurenceson said.

"So we don't need duplication. We want to run a tight ship and I'm sure that's China's aim and I think Xinhua, by drawing all these different stake holders together in setting up a forum where they can communicate directly and efficiently with one and another is going to be an important part of making sure this New Silk Road project is a successful one."

Executive director of economics for Australia's giant Westpac Bank Huw McKay also told Xinhua one day before the launch that it makes sense for Xinhua to be the conduit for a data base about the New Silk Road.

The China analyst said Xinhua is already his first port of call when gauging the broad issues that are the focus of the country's leadership.

"Centralizing the information is a very valuable public good," he told Xinhua.

"The fact there is one spot is a natural. Xinhua is a platform that is familiar to foreign business coming to China, and I think they'll be quite happy going there." "Xinhua is very well respected and I think Xinhua is also a very valuable resource when you are trying to find out what the Chinese leadership wants to communicate to the world, and there is a lot of value in that."

"So having that there, if there is a quote from a Chinese leader, you know that is designed to send a signal or symbolic message of whatever the case may be, that there is an official line of information there that is very valuable. So that's how I use Xinhua."

He added he had attended several Chinese conferences where Chinese-based analysts and economic experts only had fragmented information about the New Silk Road, so centralization made sense.

Frank Chen of U.S.-based real developer giant CBRE is based in Shanghai and is the company's China research analyst.

He told Xinhua on Wednesday that having access to a comprehensive data base would be a strategic advantage as infrastructure is developed along the road.

"I think it is going to be really helpful," he told Xinhua.

"To be honest I think the concept was starting to emerge about 12 months ago, but most of the public were not so sure about what included, about what it means One Belt One Road."

"People didn't have a clear idea. But if you promote public awareness of this program it is a good thing."

"Real estate developments along the 8,000 miles will replicate past experiences in China."

"Where ever you build the road or highway, then the real estate value is likely to increase quite rapidly. The impact from improving the infrastructure to real estate will increase the value of the property quite rapidly." Endi