A worker piles commodities at a transfer warehouse of the phase I project of a supply chain base
built under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative in Lianyungang, east China’s Jiangsu
province, August 9, 2021. (Photo by Geng Yuhe/People’s Daily Online)
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) should aim for high-standard, sustainable and people-centered
progress, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a symposium on the development of the BRI held
on Nov. 19 in Beijing.
Over the past eight years, regions across China have opened wider to the world through the BRI,
and a win-win cooperation has been achieved between China and participating countries, Xi noted
at the symposium, which was the third of its kind.
In his speech, Xi systematically summarized the important achievements and experience gained
by China in the joint construction of the BRI, analyzed the new circumstances facing the
endeavor, and put forward clear requirements for continuing promoting the joint efforts for the
high-quality development of the BRI.
Xi’s remarks manifested China’s firm resolution and the sense of responsibility of a major country
to leverage the joint construction of the BRI to continue expanding high-level opening-up, sharing
development opportunities with the rest of the world, and advancing the building of a community
with a shared future for mankind in the new era.
As an ancient Chinese teaching goes, “All good principles should adapt to changing
times to remain relevant.” Grasping the trend of the times of peace, development, cooperation, and
win-win results, Xi proposed the BRI in the autumn of 2013.
Over the past eight years, China has adhered to the principle of extensive consultation, joint
contribution and shared benefits and focused its efforts on promoting “hard connectivity” of
infrastructure, “soft connectivity” of rules and standards, as well as an people-to-people
connectivity, achieving tangible and rich fruits in advancing the high-quality development of the
BRI through joint efforts.
Today, the BRI is a public product widely welcomed by the international community and the
largest platform for international cooperation. As of November 2021, China has signed more than
200 documents on BRI cooperation with 140 countries and 32 international organizations, and
third-party market cooperation agreements with 14 countries, including Japan and Italy.
In addition, certain cooperation concepts and proposals of the BRI have been written into the
outcome documents of important international mechanisms, such as the United Nations (UN),
Group of 20 (G20), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO).
As the circle of friends of the BRI continues to expand, the quality of cooperation under the
initiative is becoming higher and higher, which ushers in better and better prospects of BRI
development.
Countries around the world should seize the opportunities brought about by the BRI cooperation
to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The BRI, which focuses on promoting development, the greatest common denominator that suits
the interests of all countries, and brings benefits to the peoples along its routes, is a Chinese
solution to openness, cooperation, and common development.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and other BRI countries have worked more closely
together to create a Health Silk Road for pooling strength to fight the pandemic.
By sharing opportunities for mutual benefit and win-win results and deepening trade, economic,
and investment cooperation with BRI countries, China has injected impetus into global economic
recovery.
With firm confidence in common development, China and the countries along the routes of the
BRI have unleashed drivers of economic growth, benefiting people around the world.
The Belt and Road is being developed into a model of cooperation for meeting challenges through
unity, a model of health for protecting people’s safety and well-being, a model of recovery for
restoring economic and social activity, and a model of growth for unlocking development
potential.
The initiative has brought tangible benefits to the peoples along its route, creating tens of
thousands of local jobs, and turning farmers who depended on rain-fed agriculture into skilled
workers and management personnel, which is the best interpretation of the value and significance
of the joint construction of the BRI.
Facing profound changes and a pandemic unseen in a century, the world has entered a period of
new turbulence and transformation. China has offered its firm solution to further promoting the
high-quality development of the BRI through joint efforts. It will cement the foundation for
development, explore new fields for cooperation with steady steps, better serve and build new
development paradigm, comprehensively strengthen risk prevention and control, and enhance
overall planning and coordination.
Embarking on a journey to fully build a modern socialist country, China will continue upholding
the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, deepen political
mutual trust, trade and financial connectivity, as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges
with other Belt and Road countries, so as to advance the high-quality development of the BRI
through joint efforts and provide new opportunities for the rest of the world through its own
development.
