Speech at the Round table on Cooperation&Development of Cities along the Silk Road Economic Belt

By Li Jinjun,

Vice Minister of the International Department,

CPCCC and Adviser to the CPAPD

His Excellency Hussain Muhammad Ershad,Former President of Bangladesh,

His Excellency Dimitrios Christofias,Former President of Cyprus,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning!It’s really an honor to attend the Round table on Cooperation&Development of Cities along the Silk Road Economic Belt.On behalf of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament(CAPAD),I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to the CPC Xi’an Municipal Committee and Xi’an Municipal People’s Government for their efforts during the preparatory work of the Commemoration of the International Day of Peace 2014!

Taking the advantage as the starting point of the Silk Road,Xi’an holds the Round table during the Commemoration of the International Day of Peace.It is of great practical significance to implement the great strategic vision of building the"Silk Road Economic Belt",which is proposed by Chinese President Xi,and to achieve lasting peace and common prosperity in the region.

Two thousand years ago,starting from here,our ancestors opened up a great trade route—the Silk Road,stretching thousands of miles and traversing Eurasia,with all nations along the Road through hardships and perseverance.Chinese President Xi Jinping points out that the Silk Road,with a total population of 3 billion,enjoys unique market size and potential.It is the transportation channel which connects the Pacific Ocean and the Baltic Sea,making economy of European and Asian countries more closely connected with in-depth cooperation and broader space for development,and this is a great cause benefiting all peoples of the countries along the Silk Road.This great strategic vision is fully in line with the interests of countries along the Road,and has been widely welcomed and received with positive response.

Prosperity of the Silk Road proves that all countries could achieve the multi-win situation through cooperation:upgrade the level of integration of regional economic cooperation could strengthen economic ties between the countries and stabilize each other's national security;frequent exchanges and enhanced understanding among people of all nations could improve the progress of human civilization,establish profound friendship and create more inclusive minds;the exchanges of science and technology could speedup technological innovation and development;diversified and multi-level exchanges could create richer spiritual and material wealth for Eurasian people.

This Round table takes“Join Hands to Promote Prosperity and Development of Cities along the Silk Road Economic Belt”as the theme,and I couldn’t agree more.Only by joint hands,belief in equality and mutual trust,openness and inclusiveness,cooperation and win-win results,could the Silk Road Economic Belt prosper and develop.Next,I’d like to share with you my suggestions:

Firstly,stick to political mutual trust.We should hold up the belief that countries,big or small,are all equal.Every country should pay great attention to others’appeal and concern,instead of being egoistic and forced.The different developing levels and political systems should all be respected.Only in this way could we seek common points while reserving differences,and achieve harmonious co-existence.

Secondly,stick to common development.Countries,in accordance with national situations,should exchange and learn from others’developing experience to discover the unique ways for themselves.The spirit of mutual help should be advocated and the less developed countries should be provided with support in finance,technology and talents.It would be better for the economic cooperation projects to give priority on people’s livelihood to benefit more people and inject new impetus to cooperation.We should strengthen cooperation in security and fight against the“Three Forces”to create a peaceful and stable environment for regional development.

Thirdly,stick to people-to-people exchanges.We should further promote exchanges in civilizations and boost co-existence among different races,religions and cultures.Expanding people-to-people exchanges will strengthen the mutual understanding and friendship among people in the world,especially the young generation,in order to pass down the humanistic spirit generation by generation.Xi’an is an ancient cultural capital in China,we welcome world-wide people,as envoys in civilization exchanges,to come here and travel in China.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Nowadays,the ancient Silk Road has shouldered the new missions and opportunities.We sincerely hope that countries and peoples along the Silk Road could inherit the great Silk Road spirit,take on the historic missions and endeavor for construction of the“Silk Road Economic Belt”and the wellbeing of people in Europe and Asia!

Thank you!

Li Jinjun delivering a speech.