The first authoritative report on "Belt and Road" three-year progress released

The seminar themed "the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI): Shared Memory and Common Development" was held in Xi'an on September 26th.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An international seminar themed "the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI): Shared Memory and Common Development" was held in Xi'an on September 26th. It was attended by over 400 guests including representatives of think tanks, enterprises and media from more than 30 countries. Liu Qibao, Head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

A report titled "Adhering to the Planning, Orderly and Pragmatically Build the 'Belt and Road' " was released, which was a result of the research team at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China (RDCY), aiming to systematize and summarize the significant progress of BRI over the past three years and provide actionable ideas for its further implementation. As the leader of the research team, Renmin University of China(RUC) President Liu Wei introduced the report at the opening ceremony.

This report provides an overview from eight perspectives: BRI's top-level design, related policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, people-to-people bond, China’s domestic efforts, as well as suggestions for BRI’s future growth. The report notes that over the past three years an array of key projects is underway, with a commitment to achieving common development and shared growth through joint consultation.

Two parallel roads, a global chorus

The report mentions that with full understanding of the interests and concerns of the countries and regions along the "Belt and Road" , the Initiative upholds the spirit of peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, and proposes five principles accordingly: the Initiative is in line with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; the Initiative is open for cooperation, and is open to all countries and international and regional organizations for engagement; the Initiative is harmonious and inclusive; the Initiative follows market rules; and the Initiative seeks mutual benefit. That means China’s BRI is open and inclusive as well as mutually beneficial for all participants. It is a chorus all countries across the globe are welcome to join in. The Initiative calls for all countries and regions along the “Belt and Road” to participate, to work and share benefit together in a bid to realize mutually beneficial and sustainable development.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road are the two main routes of the BRI. On land, the Initiative will focus on jointly building a new Eurasian Land Bridge and developing China-Mongolia-Russia, China-Central Asia-West Asia, China-Pakistan, Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar, and China-Indochina Peninsula economic corridors by taking advantage of international transport routes, relying on core cities along the "Belt and Road" and using key economic industrial parks as cooperation platforms. At sea, the Initiative will focus on jointly building smooth, secure and efficient transport routes connecting major sea ports along the "Belt and Road". In order to make greater progress of the BRI, we need to realize closer cooperation and connection between the land and maritime routes, the report says.