At the scene of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation

Text by Zhao Lei Translation by Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP

At the scene of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation

Text by Zhao Lei Translation by Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP

From14th to 15th, May, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that was held in Beijing attracted a worldwide attention, and I was very honored to be a part of it.

In the thematic session of think tank exchanges of high level dialogue that I attended, Chinese experts exchanged their ideas and thoughts with foreign think tank colleagues and politicians. The former Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, who has a special aff i nity with China, said, the best time was when China was opened to the world actively, and the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R) would be the new connection between the East and the West. I am impressed by many words from people participated in that Dialogue. I've also seen some changes upon international views of the B&R through those speeches. Many countries along the B&R are emerging economies with fresh markets, which mostly focused their attention on Chinese economic affairs before. But today, these countries are fascinated by everything in China.

I believe this Forum will be an important turning point of the implementation of the B&R. The Forumwill help achieve further international consensus and push forward with more projects. Meanwhile, such a signif i cant event of international communication

is also an essential practice of “People-to-People Connectivity”, which is an integral part of the B&R's goals.

What should we think about now: The friends from all over the world come to Beijing and discuss the vital issues, what will they take with when they leave? I think it should be the concepts, the cases and the emotion from the B&R. The Forum was so grand that some guests may have no chance to sign a contract or give a speech, but when they were at the scene and experienced this, they would have a strong impulsion from the bottom of the heart to share something with others and be more supportive of the B&R . This is also another kind of success.

As I often argued, the culture is a moving economy; the economy is a sustainable beauty; the beauty is an attitude shown honestly; and the attitude is the culture presented from inside. As for the B&R in next phrase, the very important task for Chinese is that, it needs make related policy planning, warm stories,and visionary principles easier for international community to understand. It should leave a deep impression on our friends and make them take with it and spread it to the whole world.

Zhao Lei

professor at the Institu te for International Stra tegic Studies of the Pa rty School of the Centr al Committee of the CP C, a director of the Res earch Office for Interna tional Relations and Na tional Unity. Mr. Zhao heads a key research project on the Belt and Road Initiative at CPS, and is the founder of th e forum “The Belt and R oad 100”.

赵磊

中共中央党校国际战略研究院教授、国际关系与国家统一研究室主任、中央党校“一带一路”重点研究课题主持人，“一带一路百人论坛”发起人。