The Belt and Road: Painting the Era Chapter of Win-win Cooperation and Common Development

By Li Zhongfa, Hou Lijun, and Wang Zhuolun



The Belt and Road: Painting the Era Chapter of Win-win Cooperation and Common Development

By Li Zhongfa, Hou Lijun, and Wang Zhuolun

Xinhua News Agency Reporters

To carry forward the Silk Road spirit in the historical echoes, and to realize the common dream in the future development. President Xi Jinping has put forward the profound magnificent initiatives to build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which wakes up the common historical memory of this world to the ancient Silk Road brilliant scene, inspires the emotional resonance of countries along the routes for deepening cooperation and common development, and receives wide attention and positive response from the international community.

After more than three years of hard work, this grand blueprint embodying the Chinese wisdom and thinking is spreading out slowly. Upholding the principle of collective consultation, collective construction, and collective enjoyment, the Belt and Road construction has been preliminarily planned and laid out, is moving toward the phase of locally “taking root” and lasting development, closely uniting China and the world together, and playing a new chapter of win-win cooperation and common development.

All-Dimensional -- the Belt and Road Initiative focuses on a higher level of opening up to the outside world, and pushes China more firmly towards the world

October 13-17 this year, President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Cambodia and Bangladesh, and attended the 8th BRICS summit held in Goa, India. Overseas media commented that President Xi Jinping’s Asian visit is another practice of China’s peripheral diplomatic concept featuring amity, sincerity, mutual benefits and inclusiveness, and promotes the construction of the Belt and Road to take big steps forward.

Over the past three years, President Xi Jinping’s footprints can be found all over the world, he also on different occasions at home and abroad details the grand conception of the Belt and Road Initiative, and plans the overall framework and roadmap objective of the Belt and Road construction. The Belt and Road Initiative comes from the profound thinking of the history and the current reality, and is the top design of China's opening to the outside world and economic diplomacy in the new period. Following China's economic aggregate ranking second, and China's economy developing into the new normal, today's China stands at a new starting point to have the in-depth interaction with and opening up to the world,

Since the 18thCPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee has focused on development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period and even a longer period, gradually has clarified the three great development strategy, i.e. the Belt and Road construction, the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and development of the Yangtze river economic belt. All the way from proposing construction of the Belt and Road in 2013 to adopting the strategic planning of the Belt and Road building in 2014, and then to setting up the leading group in 2015 to promote the Belt and Road construction work, and publicize the vision and action to jointly build the Belt and Road, China comprehensively plans the grandeur strategy for all-dimensional opening up to the outside world.

The new Asia-Europe continental bridge, China-Mongolia-Russian economic corridor, China - Central Asia – Western Asia economic corridor, and China-Pakistan economic corridor, China-Indochina economic corridor, Bangladesh-China -Indian-Myanmar economic corridor, etc. these six economic corridors weave a trade and transport network communicating with Asia, Africa and Europe, lay a solid foundation for the regional and trans- regional development planning. Under the circumstances of the world gloomy economic recovery continuously, the Belt and Road construction radiates endless charm and appeal. By now, there are more than 100 countries and international organizations get involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. China has signed cooperation agreements with more than 30 countries along the routes to build the Belt and Road, and carried out international capacity cooperation with more than 20 countries, the financial cooperation represented by the AIIB, the Silk Road Fund becomes constantly deepened, a number of influential landmark projects are gradually grounded. From scratch and a few, the progress and results of the Belt and Road construction are beyond expectations.

Wang Yiwei, a professor of Renmin University believes that the reason that the Belt and Road construction progress is beyond expectation is that its goal is to address the current major world concerns, and peace and development problems left over by history. He continues that today, why to promote the Silk Road spirit characterized by peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefits and win-win results? Because of the current rising of protectionism and counter-globalization trend, developed countries hinder the win-win cooperation and free trade, and make fragmented arrangements, and give away to populism, which trigger a new conflict and confrontation, and affect the world interactive cooperation.

China keeps an eye on the overall situation, increases intensity of opening up, and strives to expand trade and investment cooperation. Along the Belt and Road routes, China has signed Free Trade Area Agreements with 11 countries, and also signed bilateral investment treaties with 56 countries along the routes. In 2015, China’s bilateral trade volume with countries participating in the Belt and Road construction was beyond US$1 trillion, and the Chinese enterprises made direct investment of nearly US$15 billion in countries along the routes.

On August 17, President Xi Jinping attended and delivered an important speech at the seminar on promoting the Belt and Road construction work, putting forward eight requirements for promoting the construction work, calling for pushing forward the Belt and Road construction step by step, and ensuring the Belt and Road construction benefit the people of all countries along the routes. The Kuhn Foundation President Robert Kuhn said that an open China has created a miracle, the Belt and Road initiative is an act not only in the interests of human kind, but also an important conception to maintain the world stability, which may enable China to achieve coordinated, green and peaceful development, and will also provide goods to the countries along the routes, and even play critical role to rebalance the world economy.

Big pattern - the Belt and Road initiative upholds the principles of collective consultation, construction and enjoyment and leads the win-win cooperation and common development "chorus"

Poland is the European "intersection", and also is the crossroads for the Amber Road and the Silk Road. On June 20, 2016 at the Warsaw railway container freight station, Chinese President Xi Jinping together with Polish President Duda attended the ceremony for the first reach to Europe (Poland) by the China-Central Europe Express with unified logo. As the first train moved into the platform, the two heads of state waved hands and congratulated each other. Poland's Infrastructure Minister Adamchick said that the great Belt and Road initiative proposed by China can totally dock with the Polish traffic and trade strategy, and Poland will actively participate in it. Up to now, China-Europe Expresses from both sides are numbered over 2000, gradually forming transportation infrastructure networks connecting all Asian sub-regions and the regions between Asia, Africa and Europe. These express trains with unified logo running along the Silk Road and carrying the common dreams of various countries for cooperation and development shuttle back and forth between China and Europe and bring them more and more closely.

One flower does not make a Spring, Lots of flowers in blossom see arriving Spring. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly pointed out that the Belt and Road construction is not a solo by China, but the chorus by countries along the routes. The Belt and Road is not a road in a private garden, but a broad highway in the sunshine built by all countries. The Kazakhstan's Shining Path, the Mongolia’s Prairie Road, the Vietnam's’ Two Corridors and a Circle, the Cambodia’s Four–Corners Strategy ... Over the past three years, China has closely linked its own development with that of countries along the Belt and Road, docking the Chinese dream with revitalizing dreams of these countries, and bringing along the regional and the world economic development with China's express. Commending the Road and Belt Initiative, Bangladesh sides believes that this Initiative has brought about important opportunities for it to attain the target to build the country to join the middle-income countries by 2021 and become a developed country by 2041, The Joint Statement by China and Bangladesh to Establish a Strategic Cooperative Partnership issued during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Bangladesh said so.

As of the end of June this year, China and 18 countries along the Belt and Road have set up 52 economic and trade cooperation zones, with the accumulated total investment of US$15.6 billion. The construction of China-Belarus industrial park, China-Thailand industrial park, China- Indonesia integrated industrial park construction has attained positive and effective progress, and become important carriers for China and countries along the routes to carry out cooperation on the international production capacity and equipment manufacturing. Charles Onunaiju, director of the Nigerian Center for Chinese Studies, said that the Belt and Road initiative reflects the vision of the China's leaders, but also reflects the vitality of the Communist Party of China; and Africa's industrialization process will get a powerful impetus in the Belt and Road construction.

The new connotation -- the Belt and Road Initiative carries on the Silk Road spirit, and builds the humanitarian and cultural foundation for mutual appreciation, mutual understanding, and mutual respect

Xi 'an Datang Xishi Museum displays beautiful currencies and commodities from ancient Greece, the Byzantium, West Rome, and ancient India , etc., records the prosperity of the world's largest market a thousand years ago, and also paints a magnificent picture of friendly exchanges between the Chinese nation and the nations long the routes.

On September 20, President Xi Jinping in his congratulatory message to the First Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo laid stress on diversity and co-existence, mutual learning and common progress, cooperation and common enjoyment, strengthening cultural exchanges, advocating cultural equality, protecting cultural inheritance, promoting cultural innovation, enhancing cultural cooperation, letting the rich and colorful culture created by mankind benefit more people, and make the world still better.

To promote the Belt and Road construction is an innovation measure to develop historical inheritance and pioneer the future together. In review of the history, the ancient silk road is not only a trade route, but also more of a friendship road bearing people-to-people exchanges and cultural exchanges and promoting mutual learning among civilizations. Many gorgeous flowers of various civilizations in bloom left behind common historical memories to countries along the routes. Since the Belt and Road Initiative launched, China with countries along the routes mutually host activities, such as sponsoring country year, culture year, exchanges year, tourism year; holding exhibition Expos, art festivals, book-film -television festival; organizing exchange programs for writers in countries along the Silk Road to look at China, and Chinese writers to look at Silk Road; and actively carrying out communication dialogue among think-tanks, and media of countries along the routes ... China has always upheld the concept of promoting both economic cooperation and cultural exchanges in order to achieve both road interconnection and more people-to-people linkage.

The diplomatic relationship between countries lies in the people-to-people amity. The wide-ranging cooperation in areas of culture and education, tourism, health, science and technology, youth, political party, and government, and people-to-people has a solid foundation of public opinion for the Belt and Road construction. Mutual learning among civilizations is the precious wealth left by the ancient Silk Road, and is also the spiritual fulcrum for connecting friendship among people in the course of the Belt and Road construction; the cooperation relations based on mutual learning among civilizations will be stronger, better and more sustainable, expressed by Li Guoqiang, deputy director of the Frontier Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,

More than one thousand years ago, foreign caravans of all color skins and different languages carried goods away from Changan. Glorious times of Tang dynasty by the Silk Road through the desert and grassland extended to the distant European continent. Today, the ancient Silk Road is injected with new vitality, the future of more than 4 billion people of countries and regions along the routes will be more closely linked together. Cui Hongjian, deputy director of European studies, China Institute of International Studies said that the proposal of the clash of civilizations highlights differences, while the Belt and Road construction stresses interconnectivity and interoperability, emphasizes the Chinese concepts of equality, openness and inclusiveness, and mutual respect, which just reflects the correct direction of development of human society..

Broad vision -- the Belt and Road Initiative keeps up with the historical trend of the world development, and provides "China’s program" for improving global governance

"China's development has benefited from the international community, and is also ready to provide more public goods to the international community. The proposal of the Belt and Road. Initiative is to share China’s development opportunities with countries along the routes and to achieve common prosperity.”

In golden Autumn of September, the G20 Summit attracting attention of the world was held in Hangzhou. President Xi Jinping delivered the keynote speech at the Opening Ceremony of the G20 Industrial and Commercial Summit, illuminated China's program for leading the future development of the world, and provided China's "good prescription " to promote global economic growth. Policy communication, facilities interoperability, trade interconnection, capital integration, and people heart-to-hart inter-linkage, Wang Yiwei argued that as the world's economic future is at the crossroads, and which direction to take? The Belt and Road is the Chinese concept and Chinese program contributed to the mankind development, has added new connotation to improve global governance.

"I wish to stress that new mechanisms and initiatives launched by China are not intended to reinvent the wheels or target any other country. Rather, they aim to complement and improve the current international mechanisms to achieve win-win cooperation and common development. China's opening drive is not a one-man show. Rather, it is an invitation open to all. It is a pursuit not to establish China’s own sphere of influence, but to support the common development of all countries. It is meant to build not China’s own backyard garden, but a garden shared by all countries.”

To propose the Belt and Road Initiative, to launch new multilateral financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to push the International Monetary Fund to complete the quota and governance mechanism reform ... China, as a responsible major developing country, actively participates in the global governance, actively takes international responsibility, and promotes the international economic order to develop in the direction of equality, justice, and win-win cooperation and concept of the collective consultation, collective construction and collective sharing in the global governance. Cui Hongjian said that current global public goods are in shortage, the proposed Belt and Road Initiative embodies China's international vision, and embodies the attitude of China's active participation in global governance.

Along with time passing by, the current system of global governance finds more and more inadaptability, the voice for the international community to reform the global governance system is getting higher and higher. The Belt and Road Initiative does not seek dominance and sphere of influence in regional affairs, and does not interfere in internal affairs of the regional countries, and keeps parallel with other existing regional mechanisms and initiatives. This concept is generally recognized by various countries in the world. Stephen Jackson, senior scholar of international relations of Yale University noted that China's Belt and Road Initiative is fundamentally different with the Marshall Plan. Czech former Prime Minister I. Paroubek said whether to promote the International Monetary Fund quota reform, or advocate to establish AIIB and the BRICS new development Bank, China helps improve the world order with clear-cut thinking. The genuine 21st century project should be the Belt and Road construction advocated by China.

(Abridged translation of an article from www.xinhuanet.com on November 9, 2016)