Giving Play to the Leading Role of Political Parties in the Belt and Road Initiative---Sidelights on Asian Political Parties' Special Conference on the Silk Road

Giving Play to the Leading Role of Political Parties in the Belt and Road Initiative---Sidelights on Asian Political Parties' Special Conference on the Silk Road

ConTEMPoRARY WoRLD coRREsPonDEnT

The Asian Political Parties' Silk Road Special Conference on the Silk Road， organized by the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， was held in Beijing from October 14 to 16， 2015. Delegates had an open dialogue on the theme “New Vision of the Silk Road， Actions for Common Development” and adopted an outcome document entitled “Beijing Initiative”. We'd like to share with you some sidelights on the conference as well as the essence of the delegates' inspiring speeches.

On October 15， 2015，Chinese President Xi Jinping met with leaders of the political parties and political party organizations attending the Asian Political Parties' Special Conference on the Silk Road.

The Asian Political Parties' Silk Road Special Conference on the Silk Road organized by the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） was held in Beijing from October 14 to 16， 2015. The conference was attended by more than 400 persons including delegates of over 60 political parties and party organizations as well as the business community and the media from more than 30 countries. During the conference， Xi Jinping， General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President of China， met with leaders of 68 major political parties from more than 30 countries. Liu Yunshan， member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee， attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech entitled “Deepening Political Parties' Cooperation on the Silk Road for a Better Future”. Li Yuanchao， member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice President of China， attended and addressed the closing ceremony which was presided over by Wang Jiarui， Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC）.

This special conference was themed“New Vision of the Silk Road， Actions for Common Development”， and covered three specific topics， i.e. “Political Leadership: New Consensus for Political Parties”， “People-to-People Bonds: New Dialogue between Civilizations”，and “Economic Integration: New Impetus for Development”. An outcome document entitled “Beijing Initiative”was adopted. The success of the conference and the adoption of Beijing Initiative show that the exchanges between political parties can play a unique role in leading the Belt and Road Initiative.

BELT AnD RoAD InITIATIVE: APPLAUDED BY PoLITIcAL LEADERs

The Belt and Road Initiative （Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road） was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Central Asia and Southeast Asia in 2013. The Initiative immediately captured close attention and evoked a positive response from the international community. Against such a backdrop， the International Conference of Asian Political Parties（ICAPP）， launched in September 2000，shifted its attention to the Belt and Road Initiative. In March 2015， ICAPP sent a letter to Xi Jinping， in which it suggested that the CPC should hold a special conference on the Belt and Road Initiative so that countries alongside could better understand the Initiative and thus introduce relevant cooperation. The CPC Central Committee applauded the suggestion and after discussion， set the theme of the special conference as “New Vision of the Silk Road， Actions for Common Development”. In the meeting with the political party leaders of other countries，Xi Jinping noted that the Initiative was mainly about building the Belt and Road to revitalize the ancient Silk Road in the new era； to promote orderly and free flow of economic factors， highly efficient alloca-tion of resources and deep integration of markets in countries alongside or even more countries； to encourage the countries to achieve economic policy coordination and carry out broader and more in-depth regional cooperation of higher standards， and to jointly create an open， inclusive and balanced regional economic cooperation architecture that benefits all， for the common development of all countries alongside. Liu Yunshan stressed in addressing the opening ceremony that China would uphold the principle of jointly building the Belt and Road through consultation to meet the interests of all， and encourage joint efforts to create an open， inclusive and balanced regional economic cooperation architecture that benefits all based on equality， voluntariness and consultation so as to inject the positive energy of win-win cooperation into countries alongside. A clear message that Chinese leaders sent to the political party leaders and representatives of businesses and media organizations from more than 30 countries is that the Belt and Road Initiative is about jointly building the Belt and Road through consultation to meet the interests of all and bring well-being to the people of countries alongside.

The explanation and commitment made by Chinese leaders about the Belt and Road Initiative greatly promoted the understanding， recognition and support of the Initiative by the political leaders and politicians present at the conference. David Usupashvili，Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia， indicated that the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping would change the world and help Georgia improve its geoeconomic and geopolitical status considerably so it would be a valuable asset to Georgia. President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades recognized the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative， saying that implementing the Initiative will strongly promote international trade and investment， advance infrastructural development and technology innovation， and create better conditions for solving employment， education and other social problems. Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative， noting that implementing the Initiative will not only deepen the economic cooperation between countries concerned but also contribute significantly to world peace. Z. Enkhbold， Chairman of Democratic Party and Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia，pledged to link Mongolia's Prairie Road program with the Silk Road Economic Belt. Other political leaders and business and media representatives also expressed their appreciation for the Belt and Road Initiative and expected to see its early implementation and initial results.

In answering the question that how many countries will be involved in the Belt and Road Initiative， Guo Yezhou，Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee， said， “It is hard to specify the number of countries alongside. The Initiative is a proposal. Any country that recognizes the Silk Road Spirit centering on peace and cooperation，openness and inclusiveness， mutual learning and mutual benefit and takes an active part in building the Belt and Road is part of the Belt and Road Initiative”. Apparently， the Belt and Road Initiative is not just about carrying out projects but more about the concept of win-win cooperation. As this concept spreads widely in the international community， participants of the Initiative will not be limited to the countries along the Belt and Road or in Asia； the whole world will be involved.

NEW VIsIon oF THE SILk RoAD: REQUIRInG AcTIVE PARTIcIPATIon oF ALL SEcToRs

Since the Belt and Road should be jointly built through consultation to meet the interests of all， it requires the coordination and cooperation between countries concerned along the Belt and Road and all sectors of each country should be fully mobilized. In particular， the political parties should play a leading role in the process of building the Belt and Road. As Xi Jinping put it， political parties and politicians have vision and historical responsibility so they ought to take the lead in the Initiative.

Modern politics is the arena of political parties which not only formulate national development strategies but also engage the general public in political activities. Therefore， political parties play a unique role in devising major policies and principles， engaging the general public in political activities and associating national development strategies closely with people's everyday life. The Belt and Road Initiative involves a large number of countries which are different from one another in political system， development model and development strategy. In such a context， active coordination between countries is needed in carrying out cross-border infrastructure projects and also in devising related investment law， trade and tax policies，etc. to remove all the obstacles and barriers in the way of the Initiative. Political parties have a unique role to play in coordinating policies between countries， and even clearer advantage in strengthening people-to-people bonds， largely because of their close ties with the people. Kubanychbek Kadyrov， parliamentarian from the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan and Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the Supreme Council， made a penetrating comment on the role of political parties in the Belt and Road Initiative. He said that political parties were the bridge between the people and the government and thus had an irreplaceable role to play in effectively communicating with the government and the people about the Belt and Road.

It is also true that the leading role of political parties can be brought into better play in a more practical way only by mobilizing and engaging more sectors of society in the process. Fully aware of the importance of participation by all sectors， the organizer of the special conference also held two special dialogues， themed “Dialogue between Chinese and International Business Communities” and “Silk Road & Writing: Role of the Media” respectively. The projects under the Belt and Road Initiative need the participation of enterprises which will also be important beneficiaries of the Initiative， hence the keen interest of both Chinese and international business communities in the Initiative. The decision to invite representatives of the business community to this political parties' conference was made based on the fact that the CPC has always paid much attention to pragmatic economic cooperation in diplomatic activities. Present at the Dialogue between Chinese and International Business Communities， Zhou Li，Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee， said frankly that economic factors had been gaining weight in inter-party exchanges in the new era and that“political party diplomacy supporting economic and trade activities” and “integrating politics with economy” had emerged as a new form of exchanges between political parties. As a matter of fact， participation in the Belt and Road Initiative will help enterprises better understand the spirit and content of the Initiative， and more importantly，better adapt to local environment in countries along the Silk Road. The building of the Belt and Road needs to be supported by the public so the role of the media should be given much attention. Inviting media representatives from countries alongside to this special conference is intended to directly provide the most objective， true and accurate information about the Belt and Road Initiative for the media of relevant countries through candid dialogue. The media's forum turned out to be productive. According to Kato Harunobu， Executive Commentator at NHK， Japan Broadcasting Corporation，he had thought that the Initiative was a strategy China had put forward to establish a “new empire” based on its geopolitical needs but after the briefings， discussions and study tours over the past four days， he had come to realize that the Initiative was very inclusive and pragmatic and was indeed based on equality and mutual benefit， unlike other zero-sum strategies or initiatives introduced by other major countries. As Rahmad Nasution Dahlan， Head of Home News Department of Antara News Agency， emphasized， Western media have always told us “bad news is good news” but the Belt Road Initiative is intended to promote the common prosperity and development of countries alongside so Belt and Road stories are good stories； the media should believe that “good stories are also good news” and cover such good stories to win the understanding and support of more people.

BEIJInG InITIATIVE: NEW ConsEnsUs REAcHED AMonG AsIAn PoLITIcAL PARTIEs

The Asian Political Parties' Special Conference on the Silk Road concluded in Beijing on October 16. Ever since the multilateral political party dialogue mechanism “ICAPP” was launched in 2000， the CPC has held special conferences themed on “Poverty Reduction”， “Development Shared by All”， and “Advancing Green Development， Jointly Building an Amazing Asia” Respectively in 2010， 2011， and 2013. This is another one held within the framework of ICAPP. In addressing the closing ceremony， Vice President of China Li Yuanchao noted that this conference helped to increase the awareness of countries along the Belt and Road about the concept “Community of Shared Destiny”， made clear the responsibility of political parties in leading dialogue and cooperation，establishing the guideline of strategy coordination and common development， explored the path of win-win cooperation， and displayed the spirit of openness， inclusiveness and mutual learning.

At the closing ceremony， ICAPP Special Rapporteur Mushahid Hussain Sayed read out the Beijing Initiative which was applauded and adopted by all delegates. According to the Beijing Initiative， political parties attending the conference agree that countries along the Silk Road should work together on planning and implementation so as to translate the vision of Belt and Road into reality； strengthen policy communication and coordination to better balance their development strategies and plans and promote the in-depth integration and common development of all countries； and enhance the cooperation in such fields as infrastructural development， regional economic and trade cooperation， regional financial integration， people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning.

Compared with previous special conferences， this one has some unique features. First， broad representation. This conference was attended by political parties not only from Asia but also from Europe， Africa and Latin America. Apart from political parties and political party organizations， another highlight of this conference is the participation of business and media representatives and think tank leaders. Second， solid progress towards institutionalized exchanges. Asian political parities attending the conference showed support for the establishment of a center for the exchanges of political parties on the Silk Road. Third，Asian political parties reached broad consensus on the principles， spirit， and content of the Belt and Road Initiative.

In the future， more thoughts should be given to how to translate the consensus into actions. As Malaysian Minister of Transport Liow Tiong Lai said，“We should give full support to the Belt and Road Initiative. To do that，we need provide forceful and workable projects and plans.” In the process of building the Belt and Road， the exchanges and cooperation between political parties of Asian countries and countries along the Silk Road should focus on translating consensus into action and outcomes.