Galvanising global cooperation through Belt & Road initiative

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced early this week that China would host the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019.
He also elaborated on what had inspired him to come up with the Belt and Road Initiative, stressing that it is aimed at galvanizing global cooperation and is open to all.
Xi made the remarks at the Leaders' Roundtable Summit at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
"The Belt and Road development does not shut out, nor is it directed against, any party," Xi told the summit.Proposed in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative is a grand plan to connect Asia with Europe and Africa along, and beyond, ancient trade routes by putting in place an unparalleled trade and infrastructure network.
At last Monday's summit, Xi spoke of the myriad challenges the world faces: sluggish trade and investment, wobbling economic globalization, increasingly unbalanced development, impact from large-scale migration of refugees and immigrants, as well as wars, conflicts and terrorism.
Countries are exploring their own ways to deal with these challenges and have put forward many good development strategies and initiatives, but it is difficult to rely on a single country to manage or solve the global problems, Xi said, citing the inter-dependence between nations.Only by aligning their policies and integrating economic factors and resources in a global scale can countries create synergy to promote world peace, stability and shared development, he noted.
Under these circumstances, the world may well draw wisdom and strength from the ancient Silk Road, which features the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, Xi said.
Though originating from China, the Belt and Road Initiative belongs to the whole world, while its development goes beyond regions, stages of development, and civilizations, according to the president.
He described the Belt and Road development as a "brand of cooperation" that is open and inclusive, and a global public good jointly provided by all parties.
Under the Belt and Road framework, Xi explained, all parties can join hands to meet the global challenges in the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.
The initiative also enables countries to create new development opportunities and impetus, and leverage their comparative advantages for win-win results, to make progress toward building a community of shared future for mankind, he said.
Xi said he is glad to see positive responses to and extensive support for the initiative from the international community, with more than 100 countries and international organizations already engaging in it. A total of 29 foreign heads of state and government leaders attended the two-day forum.
Meanwhile, leaders from 30 countries and key international organizations reached broad consensus on the Belt and Road cooperation as they wrapped up a summit early this week in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the leaders agreed that they would promote international cooperation on the Belt and Road development and jointly tackle challenges facing the global economy. Xi chaired the Leaders Roundtable of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
In a speech to close the summit, he said the leaders supported closer economic policy coordination and stronger synergy of their development strategies in an effort to achieve coordinated and interconnected development.
"We hope to translate consensus into action and achieve fresh outcomes in practical cooperation," he said.In addition, they hoped to build bridges of people-to-people exchange and deliver better lives to the people, according to Xi.
"We believe that the Belt and Road Initiative presents an open and inclusive platform for development where all countries can participate, contribute and benefit as equals," he said.
Participants in the Leaders Roundtable of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation adopted a joint communique and released an outcome list Monday last.
The roundtable summit was part of the two-day forum held last weekend and Monday and attended by 30 heads of state and government leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The forum is the most important meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative since Xi first made the proposal in 2013. It is also the largest-scale and highest-level international gathering initiated by China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation has achieved positive outcomes over the last weekend.
A list of more than 270 outcomes was formulated, he said. These outcomes will lend strong support to the building of the Belt and Road, and serve to boost confidence from all parties to advance cooperation, he said.
Courtesy: People's Daily of China.
e-mail: newssharing_pd@163.com