Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed comprehensively advancing high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on December 2.

Xi, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when addressing the fourth symposium on Belt and Road construction work held in Beijing.

It is imperative to strengthen strategic confidence, maintain strategic focus and act courageously with a sense of responsibility to create a brighter future for Belt and Road cooperation, Xi said.

Since the initiative was put forth in 2013, major achievements have been made in Belt and Road cooperation, which contributed to enhancing China's friendship with participating countries and promoting their economic and social development, Xi said.

Noting that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change in recent years, he urged efforts to appropriately manage all types of risks and challenges and effectively address the impact of geopolitical conflicts while advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

It is necessary to properly handle the relationship between strengthening participating countries' sense of fulfillment and ensuring the benefits for China, Xi said, calling for concrete measures to safeguard China's overseas interests.

So far, China has signed BRI cooperation documents with over 150 countries and over 30 international organizations.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that by the end of 2023, Chinese companies had established 17,000 overseas enterprises in countries participating in the BRI, with direct investment stock exceeding $330 billion, while the overseas economic and trade cooperation zones built under the initiative had created 530,000 local jobs.

Xi has attended previous editions of the symposium, held in 2016, 2018 and 2021, respectively.

During the symposium, Xi pointed out that the Belt and Road cooperation has entered a new period of high-quality development.

He stressed adhering to the principle of "planning together, building together and benefiting together," the philosophy of open, green and clean cooperation, and the goal of pursuing high-standard, people-centered and sustainable cooperation.

Focusing on enhancing connectivity, efforts should be made to continuously create new space for win-win development at a higher level and with greater resilience and sustainability, Xi said.

He emphasized the need to strengthen the mechanisms for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and improve planning, coordination and management mechanisms.

Xi called for perseverance to turn blueprints into reality and courage to overcome all kinds of risks and challenges in unswervingly advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to make greater contributions to the development of a human community with a shared future.

When presiding over the symposium, Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese Vice Premier, said Xi provided important guidance and set the direction for high-quality cooperation under the BRI in the next golden decade, urging localities, departments and organizations to foster a group of influential and significant projects for cooperation and generate more exemplary achievements. 

Major Steps

In his keynote speech at the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in October 2023, President Xi Jinping announced eight major steps China will take to support the joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

In his December 2 speech, Xi said BRI development should be guided by these steps. Their key points follow:

First, building a multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network. China will speed up high-quality development of the China-Europe Railway Express, participate in the trans-Caspian international transportation corridor, host the China-Europe Railway Express Cooperation Forum, and make joint efforts to build a new logistics corridor across the Eurasian continent linked by direct railway and road transportation.

Second, supporting an open world economy. China will establish pilot zones for Silk Road e-commerce cooperation, and enter into free trade agreements and investment protection treaties with more countries. China will hold the Global Digital Trade Expo annually. In the next five years (2024-28), China's total trade in goods and services is expected to exceed $32 trillion and $5 trillion, respectively.

Third, carrying out practical cooperation. China will promote both signature projects and "small yet smart" livelihood programs. China will carry out 1,000 small-scale livelihood assistance projects, and enhance vocational education cooperation through Luban Workshops and other initiatives.

Fourth, promoting green development. China will continue to deepen cooperation in areas such as green infrastructure, green energy and green transportation, and step up support for the BRI International Green Development Coalition. China will continue to hold the BRI Green Innovation Conference, and establish dialogue and exchange mechanisms for the solar industry and a network of experts on green and low-carbon development. China will implement the Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road, and provide 100,000 training opportunities for partner countries by 2030.

Fifth, advancing scientific and technological innovation. China will continue to implement the Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan, increase the number of joint laboratories built with other parties to 100 in the next five years, and support young scientists from other countries to work on short-term programs in China.

Sixth, supporting people-to-people exchanges. China will host the Liangzhu Forum to enhance dialogue on civilizations with BRI partner countries. In addition to the Silk Road International League of Theaters, the Silk Road International Arts Festival, the International Alliance of Museums of the Silk Road, the Silk Road International Alliance of Art Museums, and the Silk Road International Library Alliance that have been set up, China has also launched the International Tourism Alliance of Silk Road Cities. And we will continue with the Chinese Government Scholarship Silk Road Program.

Seventh, promoting integrity-based Belt and Road cooperation. Together with its cooperation partners, China will release the Achievements and Prospects of Belt and Road Integrity Building and the High-Level Principles on Belt and Road Integrity Building, and establish the Integrity and Compliance Evaluation System for Companies Involved in Belt and Road Cooperation.

Eighth, strengthening institutional building for international Belt and Road cooperation. China will work with its BRI partner countries to strengthen the building of multilateral cooperation platforms covering energy, taxation, finance, green development, disaster reduction, anti-corruption, think tank, media, culture and other fields.

This is an edited report from Xinhua News Agency

(Print edition title: New Space for Development)

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