Silk Road Spirit Points Toward the Future

Beijing Forum sees agreements and consensus reached by leaders from all around the world

In the midst of Beijing’s warm early summer， the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation （BRF） took place in Beijing， drawing the attention of the whole world. More than 1，500 distinguished guests from 130 countries and 70 international organizations， including 29 heads of state and government leaders and leaders of three major international organizations， gathered here to attend this important forum and engage in full exchanges of views on building the Belt and Road.

The Forum marked a gathering of great minds on the Belt and Road Initiative， and was the largest international conference relating to the Belt and Road Initiative since it was first proposed in 2013.

Chinese Wisdom

“Over 2，000 years ago， our ancestors， trekking across vast steppes and deserts， opened the transcontinental passage connecting Asia， Europe and Africa， known today as the Silk Road，” said Chinese President Xi Jinping during his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Forum. “An ancient Chinese saying goes， ‘A long journey can be covered by taking one step at a time’. Similarly， there is an Arab proverb which says that ‘the Pyramids were built by piling one stone onto another.’”

Strong relations across the extent of the Belt and Road have been established， and the world has responded positively to China’s Initiative. In speeches， the distinguished guests expressed their support for the Chinese wisdom that integrates the Belt and Road into global governance.

At the Forum， Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the world is confronted with a complex situation， calling for a new cooperation mechanism to eliminate barriers and open the gate of cooperation. The Forum is of vital importance for promoting cooperation on the Eurasian continent.

“The center of gravity of the world economy is rapidly turning to the east，” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey is located at the intersection of Asia and Europe. It played an important part in the Ancient Silk Road， with unique geographical advantages. The Belt and Road Initiative echoes Turkey’s Middle Corridor Initiative， which advocates connectivity across Europe， Central Asia and China through the Anatolia region.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he believes the Belt and Road is an important platform for sharing global best practices which will promote the fair and equitable development among members of the UN. He expects that the Belt and Road go hand-in-hand with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to bring benefits to the people around the world.

Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum quoted a Chinese proverb in Chinese， “If you want to get rich， build a road first，” expressing his appreciation for the initiative.

Former French Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin attended the forum as the special representative of the new French President Emmanuel Macron. In his speech， Raffarin stated that the Belt and Road is an important carrier for the realization of the vision of policy coordination and infrastructure connectivity between Asia and Europe. Policy coordination and the synergy of development strategies will be an important institutional guarantee for the building of a more open， more stable and more prosperous world.

All the distinguished guests agreed that this forum has served as a link between the past and the future on the world stage. It has been a platform for all parties to exchange their views on the past， the present and the future of win-win cooperation.

Mutual Benefit

On the afternoon of May 14， at the conference themed on people-to-people bonds， Myanmar farmer U Tuntun told his story. As an ordinary farmer in Monywa in central Myanmar， U Tuntun lived in poverty. The Letpadaung Copper Mine changed his life forever. The mine is one of the Belt and Road demonstration projects in Myanmar which has benefited from investment by the Wanbao Mining Company of China North Industries Corporation （NORINCO） with a total investment of more than US$1 billion. The production cycle is about 30 years. U Tuntun was employed as a project specialist. His family moved from a primitive dwelling into a new apartment near the mine， and his second child was born in a hospital built with Chinese assistance there.

Also present among the audience at the Forum was Chinese billionaire entrepreneur Wang Jianlin， who was famously quoted as saying that a young entrepreneur should “set a small goal first” to start his career — to make 100 million yuan （US$15 million）. U Tuntun， according to conference host Dong Qing， has already realized his “small goal”， that is， he has made a fortune of 100 million kyat （about 500，000 yuan）.

U Tuntun’s experience is proof that people-to-people bonds are the most solid and enduring foundation of the Belt and Road.

“We are at a fresh starting point， ready to embark on a new journey together，” Xi said at the banquet in honor of foreign guests attending the Forum. “So long as we press ahead with a common vision without backpedaling or standing still， we will achieve greater connectivity and benefit from each other’s development. We gather here to renew the Silk Road spirit. This is both a continuation of our shared legacy and the right choice for the future.”

Right Choice

On May 15， President Xi chaired the BRF Leaders’ Roundtable Summit at the Yanqi Lake International Convention Center in Beijing. A total of 29 foreign heads of state and government leaders， as well as leaders of the United Nations， the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund， attended the summit. The theme of the summit was “strengthening international cooperation to build the Belt and Road into a platform for win-win development”. The participants exchanged views on the synergy of development strategies， interconnectivity， people-to-people bonds and other areas.

The Forum reached important consensus on the following： stressing that the Belt and Road is a cooperation platform that is open and inclusive， and a global public good jointly provided by all parties； promoting economic cooperation to find solutions for the challenges that the world economy faces today； stepping up the coordination of economic policies and the synergy of development strategies for well-coordinated and interconnected development； enhancing pragmatic cooperation in different fields with focus on establishing an interconnected infrastructure network； building trans-boundary bridges of people-to-people exchange.

The Forum concluded with a Joint Communique and a List of Deliverables. The list includes 76 items comprised of more than 270 concrete results in five key areas — synergizing connectivity of development policies and strategies； deepening project cooperation for infrastructure connectivity； expanding industrial investment and enhancing trade connectivity； enhancing financial cooperation and promoting financial connectivity； investing more in people’s livelihoods and deepening people-to-people exchange. The entire list of achievements provides strong support for international cooperation on Belt and Road building.

During the two-day forum， 68 countries and international organizations signed cooperation agreements with China on pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative. Some of the agreements focused on the synergy and planning of macroeconomic policies and development strategies， while others focused on the pragmatic actions in trade and investment， infrastructure connectivity， industrial and financial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

China will scale up its support for the Belt and Road Initiative. It will contribute an additional 100 billion yuan （US$15 billion） to the Silk Road Fund， which invests in infrastructure projects along the Belt and Road. Financial institutions are encouraged to conduct overseas fund business in Chinese yuan， with a target amount of about 300 billion yuan （US$45 billion）. The China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China will set up special lending schemes worth 250 billion yuan （US$40 billion） and 130 billion yuan （US$20 billion）， respectively. These schemes will support Belt and Road cooperation on infrastructure， industrial capacity and financing. Additionally， China will host the China International Import Expo starting from 2018.

“This forum has made a summary of the achievements since the Belt and Road Initiative was first proposed，” said Wang Yuzhu， a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies. “The initiative is an embodiment of the goodwill and intentions of China， a rising developing country， to the world and the whole of mankind. The forum is a starting point for the further integration of the Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategies of other countries， for the implementation of more mutually beneficial projects and a higher level of interconnectivity. Such cooperation will bring people along the route into the same community of shared future.”