Steadily Pushing Ahead the Belt and Road Initiative

　　“The wide and deep tracks separate and join again, like vortex in the river. This road has been walked by countless people for thousands of years, as an ever flowing stream of life ……” This was the exclamation by Alice Mildred Cable, a European Protestant Christian missionary on her long journey over the Silk Road. It is true that a country can open up with full confidence when powerful, and opening-up will in turn make a country powerful and prosperous. It was emphasized at the central economic work conference called at the end of 2016 that, we should promote opening to the outside world in main areas, push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative, and bring into play the role of policy-based, open and commercial finance. Opening to the outside world is a basic national policy of China, and an inevitable choice in realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation. The Belt and Road Initiative originates in China and belongs to the world, not only providing motive force for the development of China, but also creating opportunities for the development of the world.

　　The Belt and Road Initiative is spreading in areas from scratch, with progress and results better than expected.

　　During his visit to Central Asian countries in September 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the first time to jointly construct the “Silk Road Economic Belt”; in October that year, he proposed to jointly construct the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, and these two constituted the great initiative of Belt and Road. In the past three years and more, with the joint efforts of China and countries along the lines, world amazing achievements have been obtained for Belt and Road from its initial proposal to construction. On August 17, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the working symposium on pushing ahead the Belt and Road Initiative that, the Belt and Road Initiative is spreading in areas from scratch, with progress and results better than expected. These results are embodied on five aspects of policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bonds.

　　On policy coordination, as China pushes ahead the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more countries along the route have come to understand and actively responded to this initiative. More than 100 countries and international organizations have expressed their attitude of active support and participation in pushing ahead the Belt and Road Initiative, and China has signed cooperation agreement to jointly push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative with over 40 countries and international organizations, international organizations including the United Nations also take an active attitude, the financial cooperation with Asia Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund as representative has kept on deepening, and some symbolic projects with influence have been settled. The Belt and Road construction has reached connectivity consensus with the “Junker Investment Program” of EU, the “Grassland Road” of Mongolia, the “Rectangular Strategy” of Cambodia and the strategy of Laos to “turn a land-locked state into a land-linked state”.

　　On facilities connectivity, China has carried out massive cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road in the construction of infrastructures such as highway, railway and harbors, effectively upgrading the infrastructure construction level of these countries. According to the Ministry of Commerce, construction for projects such as Karakoram Highway phase II and Karachi Expressway in Pakistan, and China-Laos Railway has been started, and the E-W Express Railway in Turkey and the Hungary-Serbia Railway are progressing smoothly. From north to south, on China – Central Asia – West Asia economic corridor, China – Pakistan economic corridor and China – Indo-China Peninsula economic corridor, significant progress has been achieved in the construction of many landmark infrastructures, and some have been completed and put into operation. The construction of infrastructures has continually deepened the production capacity cooperation. By now, the bilateral and multi-lateral production capacity cooperation fund of China with the countries along the Belt and Road has exceeded 100 billion US dollars. China has reached important consensus with France, Germany and the UK on jointly opening up the third party market along the Belt and Road; and will cooperate with Russia and other countries on nuclear power, to push the independently designed G3 nuclear power technology of China to the global market. According to statistics by the Ministry of Commerce, enterprises of China have built up some economic and trade cooperation zones in countries along the Belt and Road, creating much tax and many jobs in the hosting countries.

　　On unimpeded trade, China has made more efforts in developing free trade zones, and has maintained the position as the No. 1 exporting country. China takes the free trade zone construction as an important content of Belt and Road Initiative, China has completed the free trade zone upgrading negotiations with ASEAN and the free trade negotiations with Georgia, is actively advancing the negotiations on regional overall economic partnership, the free trade zone negotiations with Maldives, and started free trade zones with the Gulf Cooperation Council and Israel, endeavoring to build up a free trade zone network of high standard. The construction based on Belt and Road Initiative has promoted the foreign trade of China. Data from State Statistics Bureau show that in 2016, the total import and export volume of China dropped by 0.9% from that of previous year, but the total import and export volume with countries along Belt and Road increased, reaching 6.2517 trillion yuan. The export to Pakistan, Russia, Poland, Bangladesh and India grew by 11%, 14.1%, 11.8%, 9% and 6.5%，respectively.

　　On financial integration, the financial cooperation with Asia Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund as representatives has kept on deepening. The financial service sector of China is actively going global, to carry out cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, to realize mutual financing of funds. The People’s Bank of China has signed bilateral currency swap agreements with the central banks in more than 20 countries along the lines. Renminbi has been officially included in the SDR currency basket of the IMF. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has started operation, the Silk Road fund will further increase the financial support, to provide sufficient financial guarantee to push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2016, the direct investment of China in countries along the Belt and Road reached 14.5 billion US dollars, and Chinese enterprises signed new contracts with relevant countries with total amount of 126 billion US dollars. The fund support from China has made up the long existing fund shortage in the infrastructure construction in Asia, Africa and Europe, further promoted the connection of countries along the lines with the demand of Chinese enterprises to open up overseas market.

　　On people-to-people bonds, rapid progress in pushing ahead the Belt and Road Initiative and associated international production capacity cooperation has raised the confidence of the developing economies, and enhanced the enthusiasm and desire of the cooperating countries to attract Chinese investment. The Belt and Road construction will bring up the industrial upgrading and economic development in the countries along the lines, creating new market for developed countries in Europe and America now in economic slowdown, offering new opportunities for cooperation with enterprises of all countries, and making important contribution to the continual recovery of world economy. The significant progress in pushing ahead the Belt and Road Initiative has made clear to the countries along the lines and all over the world the concept of jointly building “community of benefit” and “community of destiny”, and the international society will increasing welcome the construction scheme for Belt and Road. In pushing ahead the Belt and Road Initiative, countries along the lines join hands and cooperate faithfully, have made benefit for the people in these countries, and contributed to the global development, greatly stimulating the people of the world in the longing and pursuit for “building a community of destiny of human beings”.

　　The Belt and Road Initiative is for win-win benefiting, and a road of sunshine for all people to march forward hand in hand.

　　In less than 4 years, results better than expected have been achieved in Belt and Road Initiative, what are the reasons at deep level?

　　The Belt and Road Initiative fits the dream of the people of the world to “build a community of destiny of human beings”. On September 3, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the G20 Industrial and Commercial Summit that: “China has benefited from the international society in its development, and is ready to provide more public products for the international society. I proposed the Belt and Road Initiative with the purpose for the countries along the lines to share the development opportunities with China, to realize common prosperity.” Practice has proved that the Belt and Road Initiative is really a right road of opening and inclusiveness, and a “chorus” of countries along the lines for joint consultation, construction and sharing. The Belt and Road construction is practical actions, instead of empty slogan, and it has brought true benefits to the people in the countries and regions along the lines.

　　The Belt and Road Initiative complies with the general tide of the world of multi polarity, economic globalization, informatization of society and diversity of culture. Following this general tide, the Belt and Road Initiative carries on the open spirit of regional cooperation, its construction has been highly fitting the pressing demand of countries along the lines in pushing ahead industrialization and modernization and in improving their infrastructures, therefore they actively participate in and support it. During the difficult recovery of the global economy in recent years, the Belt and Road Initiative has injected a new pushing force for the recovery of world economy, playing an important role in stabilizing the current world economic situation. In a longer view angle, the Belt and Road Initiative covers a population of 4.4 billion in Europe, Asia and Africa, with economic aggregate of 23 trillion US dollars. It is an economic corridor with huge development potential and space, playing a significant role in the sustained development of global economy.

　　The Belt and Road Initiative carries on the principle of opening-up, inclusion, balance and general benefiting, and the concept of joint consultation, construction and sharing. China emphasizes that all countries in the world jointly participate in the global economic governance, and this is one of the reasons that the Belt and Road Initiative can receive extensive acceptance and active response. The Belt and Road construction will not substitute the existing regional cooperation mechanism and initiatives, instead, it will promote the countries along the lines to realize mutual connection and complement of advantages of development strategies on the existing foundation. Through policy coordination, the Belt and Road planning will link with the plans in relevant countries, to well facilitate investment and develop free trade. It will strengthen people-to-people cooperation, and promote the inclusion, mutual learning and joint development of different cultures through the exchange and cooperation on education, science and technology, tourism and culture, to enable connection between peoples.

　　Further push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative and go global with a more proactive attitude

　　Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has gradually made clear the three major development strategies including the Belt and Road Initiative, by aiming at the development of China in the 13th Five-Year Plan and longer period. In 2014, the Strategic Planning for Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road was formulated, in 2015, the Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road was issued, and in 2016, the symposium on the work to push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative was called, and results better than expected have been achieved for the Belt and Road Initiative. In May 2017, the International Cooperation Summit Forum on Belt and Road Initiative will be held in Beijing, to seek solution to the problems in world and regional economy and to inject new energy to realized linked development.

　　It is a significant decision made by the CPC Central Committee to push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative. To push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative, we must deeply study and put into practice the principles from General Secretary Xi Jinping's major addresses and his new vision, thinking, and strategies for China's governance, and implement the new ideas of development of innovation, coordination, green, opening and sharing, to obtain greater achievements in the building of Belt and Road. We should focus on policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds, building networks for mutual benefiting cooperation, patterns for new type cooperation and platforms for multi-element cooperation, join hands to build a green, healthy, smart and peaceful Silk Road, and press ahead the Belt and Road Initiative step by step in a steadfast manner.

　　Essentially, pushing ahead the Belt and Road Initiative will give rise to new demand by increasing effective supply, to realize new balance of world economy. This requires us to adhere to joint consultation, joint construction and sharing, speed up the construction of continent economic corridor and marine cooperation pivot points, and building up the cooperation mechanism of simplified customs along the lines. We should deepen the international production capacity cooperation, to enable our equipment, technologies, standards and services to go global and realize complementing each other’s advantages. We should develop strategy connectivity, carry out cross-nation interconnection through agreements, planning, mechanism and projects, raise the trade and investment cooperation level and jointly push ahead inclusive development. We should grasp the main direction, aim at key regions and countries, focus on supporting strategically prior projects for interconnectivity of infrastructures, development and utilization of energy and resources, construction of economic, trade and industries cooperation zones, and industrial core Jiangsu Province R&D support, and well implement key and major projects of the Belt and Road Initiative. We should properly promote financial innovation for internationalized financing pattern, deepen the cooperation in financial field, build multi-level financial platforms, and establish a long-term, stable and sustainable financial guarantee system that serves the Belt and Road Initiative with risks under control. We should further strengthen the exchanges and cooperation in education, culture and tourism fields.

　　To push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative, we must have a global sight, more consciously make overall domestic and international planning, apply the grand strategy of opening to the outside world in all aspects, and go global with a more proactive attitude. We should plan as a whole for continental and maritime areas, domestic and overseas and administration and enterprises, encourage domestic enterprises to invest and operate in countries along the lines, and also welcome enterprises of countries along the lines to invest in China; we should better connect the Belt and Road Initiative with the national strategies of coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei and development of Yangtze River economic belt, and combine it with the development of the west, rejuvenation of northeast, rising of central China, first development of the east and development and opening of border areas, to achieve all-round opening and linked development of the east, central and west regions. We must enhance guarantee by policy, combine the demand orientation with target orientation, and further formulate and implement some specific policies and measures. We should strengthen overall planning and coordination, and well integrate and utilize the limited resources, to produce a power resultant force in the construction for Belt and Road Initiative.

　　Pushing ahead the Belt and Road Initiative is a great undertaking to benefit the whole mankind, and it is also an international public product offered by China to the world aiming at building a community of destiny of human beings. At present, the global economic recovery is weak and the trade protectionism is serious, further increasing the uncertainty in the global economic growth. The Belt and Road Initiative injects new impetus to the economic recovery, conducive in short-term to the stability of current world economic situation, and as an active exploration to the future global cooperation and a new pattern of global economic governance in a long run. Looking into the future, we will carry on the Silk Road spirit of “peaceful cooperation, opening inclusion, learning from each other and win-win mutual benefit”, strengthen the strategy connection and policy coordination with countries along the lines, jointly manage and control risks, further deepen investment and trade cooperation, proactively and steadily push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative and better make benefit for the people in countries along the lines.