The Belt and Road Initiative Constructs a New Model for International Cooperation

In the new international and domestic situations, China’s proposal and implementation of "the Belt and Road Initiative" is a new exploration and creation for construction of all-round opening-up and all-win international cooperation mode. It not only benefits achievement of sustainable development of China’s economic society but also urges all Asian countries to join a community of shared future.

Since entering the 21st century, the international and domestic environments facing development of China’s economic society has witnessed great changes. Especially, in the trend of global economic integration, the recovery and development of global economy needs not only new driving force for the growth but also breakdown of all forms of protectionism and promotion of liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment in order to explore new mode and approach for the international economic cooperation and development under the new situations. At the same time, since the reform and opening up, China has accomplished the noticeable achievements in all areas and become the second largest economy, but the original development modes can’t continue and the economic development has entered into the strategic transformation of “new normal.” On one hand, it is necessary to continuously carry forwards the reform and opening up in order to achieve sustainable development of economy; on the other hand, it is also required to continue to integrate into and boost the global economic integration and explore the new international cooperation mode. In such a context, China creatively proposed the regional development strategy of “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “21th Century Maritime Silk Road,” which obtains support of many countries. Thus, this strategy is in line with the international community’s strong demands for mutually beneficial and all-win regional cooperation. In general, the “One Belt and One Road” strategy has the following innovations. 

First, in the view of opening up and international cooperation, China adheres to the equal and mutually beneficial and cooperative and all-win principle, explores and establishes together with others the communities of development, interests and obligations, and respects other countries’ selection of roads. China not only hopes the countries along the “One Belt and One Road” to voluntarily and equally participate in the strategy but also encourages countries other than those in the region to play a constructive role in development and stability of the region. The establishment of such communities is aimed at creating an inclusive development platform, overcoming various cooperative barriers, including territory disputes and differences of political systems, religions and cultures, jointly discussing, constructing and sharing the economic development road and finally forming up the mutually beneficial and all-win “community of interests” and the “community of shared future” of commonly prosperous development. It is totally different from the Marshall Plan headed by the USA to consolidate the USA’s hegemony in the world, curb the Soviet Union and communist forces through the economic expansion in the name of saving the European economy after the World War II and is also different from the European “Eastern Partnership” with the apparent attempt to rein in development of Russia. 

Second, in the form of opening up and international cooperation, China has realized the coastal region of eastern China leads the hinterland through the establishment of free trade zones following the previous lending watercourses and roads to the hinterland regions for their going abroad, actively undertakes the construction of infrastructure, such as transport channels and ports, establishes a economic corridor with the starting point in China, traversing partial regions of the Eurasia and involving about 4.4 billion people, and creates the new pattern of all-round opening up and new situations of common prosperity of countries along the belt and road based on the interconnectivity. Asia is the most vigorous and potential region around the whole world now and also a focus in the international strategic competition and games. Confronted with the sovereignty disputes over surrounding areas, the major countries’ geopolitical games and the complicated security situation due to ethnic and religious contradictions, China adheres to the concept of “benignity, honesty, benefit and inclusiveness” and actively advocates the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable Asian security concept, in a bid to set up a jointly built, sharing and all-win Asian security road. "the Belt and Road Initiative" strategy is beneficial to improvement of common security of Asia and relevant countries of other regions through cooperation, effective management and control of disagreements and disputes, implementation of the cooperative and all-win strategy of peaceful development and opening up the hinterland of China so as to further promote the open economy’s development of the coastal region. 

Third, in the context of opening up and international cooperation, it is necessary to advocate peace, friendship, the Silk Road Spirit of openness and inclusiveness, and endow the ancient Silk Road with new historical missions and demands of the times. The Silk Road is an important channel for economic trade and cultural exchanges between ancient China and Asian, African and European regions. Thus, it made important contributions to exchanges and mutual influences of the eastern and western civilizations. "the Belt and Road Initiative" strategy proposed and launched by China is aimed to follow the development trend of regional economic integration and conform to China’s opening up policy, especially westward opening up of the western region of China, in the new historical period. It is also targeted to realize the new pattern of two-way transmission of imports and exports from the one-way introduction of funds and technologies. China will create the material foundation and convenient conditions for the economic trade and cultural exchanges between countries along the belt and road through promotion of the interconnectivity among countries and form up the community of common interests and community of shared future based on the equality, inclusiveness, cooperation and all-win. As Xi Jinping stressed, the interconnectivity involves the infrastructure, systems and regulations and personnel exchanges and is the all-round, three-dimensional and network-shaped connection in five aspects of policy connection, facility linkage, smooth trade, capital flowing and connection of human wills. 

Fourth, in implementation of opening up and international cooperation, full play should be given to the leading role of finance, to provide the financial support for Asian countries in construction of infrastructure projects in the forms of equity investment, credit investment, lending, guaranteeing and the others through the establishment of the Silk Road Fund and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in an effort to positively participate in and proactively plan the regional cooperation and even gradually lead the transnational allocation of global financial assets. Many Asian regions and countries need construction of infrastructure but lack capital. China has a large foreign currency reserve and high national saving ratio and it has rich experience in construction and management of outsourcing projects in the process of “made in China”,  so it may help countries along the belt and road to overcome the economic constraint in saving and trade through the Silk Road Fund and AIIB. While improving transfer of some industries of China, the strategy can help countries along the belt and road to improve the nonagricultural employment and exert the advantages of human resources. Thanks to such an all-win move, the countries along the belt and road will get the new cooperative development opportunities and thus, they actively respond to this strategy. It is believed, in the future, the construction fundraising platform of "the Belt and Road Initiative" will attract more investors so as to form up the accumulative effect of size and the good direct investment environment. It will play a significant role in breaking the traditional pattern with the only one largest international financial institution, promoting the capability of integrating resources and promoting the access of RMB to the international market.