BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) --- President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses a symposium marking the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug 27, 2018. The Belt and Road Initiative meets the internal needs of the reform of global governance system and reflects a sense of a community with a shared future, providing new thoughts and solutions for the reform of the global governance system. China will uphold dialogue and coordination, pursue shared growth, seek win-win cooperation and boost communication with countries along the routes of the BRI to strengthen political mutual trust, enhance integration of economies and expand people-to-people exchanges. Xi called for efforts to promote the implementation step by step and achieve more tangible outcomes. Xi also required carrying out more projects that could benefit the local people along the routes of BRI, advancing building a community with a shared future for humanity.
Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the leading group on advancing BRI development presided over the meeting.
During the symposium, vice chairman of the national CPPCC and director of the National Development and Reform Commission He Lifeng, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, mayor of Shanghai Ying Yong, secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province Che Jun, mayor of Chongqing Tang Liangzhi, governor of Sichuan province Yin Li, chairman of China Merchant Group Li Jianhong, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Li Shufu and researcher of Macro Economic Research Institute of the State Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China delivered speeches. They put forward advice and suggestions with regard to promoting “the Belt and Road Initiative” according to current circumstances.
After the speeches, Xi Jinping made important remarks. He stressed that “Belt and Road Initiative” has been brought to a growing number of countries’ attention since it was introduced in 2013. It has become a solution for China to participate in global opening-up and cooperation, improve global economic governance, promote common development and prosperity, and build a community with a shared future for humanity. For the past five years, the BRI has greatly improved our free trade and investment and promotes the opening-up regions from coastal cities to in-land cities and borders making new ground in opening China further through links running eastward and westward, across land and over sea. China’s trade with Belt and Road countries has exceeded 5 trillion U.S. dollars and outward direct investment has amounted to over 60 billion dollars, creating over 200,000 local jobs. Our outward investment has become a significant engine to attract global outward direct investment.
Xi noted that, at a time when the world is undergoing major developments, transformation and adjustment, we should have strategic views, set a global vision, have a sense of risk and at the same time seize the historic opportunity in order to move forward in the right direction when facing great changes. To build a community with a share future for humanity taking the Belt and Road Initiative as its practicing platform was proposed based on china’s reform and opening up and development in a long run, conforming to the concept of the unity of heaven that we all share and the outlook of cherishing men from afar and building a peaceful world. It takes high point of international morality and justice. It is not only about the economic cooperation but also an important means of improving global developing patterns and global governance and advancing the sound development of globalization.
“Developing countries should accelerate their industrialization and urbanization so as to achieve financial independence and national rejuvenation. That the Belt and Road Initiative is widely supported reflects the aspiration of all countries for peace and development, especially in developing countries. It does not aim at a geopolitical or military alliance, nor will it establish a small bloc or set up a “China club. It is an open and inclusive process and we expect a world without differentiating countries by ideology and playing the zero-sum game As long as countries are willing to join, they are welcome”. President Xi Jinping said on Monday.
Xi pointed out that the Belt and Road Initiative is taking a step toward the grassroots level and converting to enduring development after five years of stabilizing and constructing. On the basis of attaining a sound developing momentum, we should further our way to pursue the high-quality development, which is the fundamental requirement in next phase. Xi asked for efforts to push for stable increase and implement new development thoughts to address some crucial problems including major project, financial support, investment environment, risk control and security insurance thorough uniting strength and integrating resources, with focus on such things as construction of major projects in infrastructure and production capacity cooperation. Its purpose is to achieve some tangible outcomes. We need to deepen this work and put it into practice.
Xi said, the Belt and Road Initiative has finished its general layout and drawn an outline of Chinese landscape over the past few years. He advocated that we should focus on key point and carve in earnest so as to create the delicate traditional Chinese realistic painting. Great efforts should be made in project construction including building work mechanisms and improving the supporting facilities so as to achieve the positive progress. Attention should be paid to some urgent projects that benefit local people. Meanwhile, we need to enlarge the market, build more platforms to promote trade, attract some giant enterprises to invest in the countries along the routes, develop new forms and models including trans-border e-commerce and focus on trade balance. Xi also called efforts to ensure the financial security, speed up the formation of the BRI policy system and advance the RMB to global. Social funds should be invested in infrastructure and resources exploitation along the routes to serve as the foreign funds for enterprises who going global. Besides, we need to strengthen exchanges in education, science and technology, culture, sports, tourism, health care and archaeology, and provide effective aid for people’s wellbeing around the BRI. We also need to standardize the company’s investment and operation, protect environment and fulfill the social obligations so as to become the image ambassador of the BRI. It is necessary to prevent the outbound risks, improve the security system of preventing risks and fully strengthen the offshore security and the ability to face risks.
Xi called for the efforts to intensify the leadership of Belt and Road Initiative. Strengthening “Four Consciousnesses” and firmly sticking to “Four Confidence”, all regions and departments should plan to promote the BRI from the overall conditions of the Party and the nation. The Leading Group of Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative Construction should take the lead in line with the deployment of the Central Committee, coordinate all regions and departments, clear the main point of work, lay out specific work plan, distribute the tasks to all levels, strengthen oversight and put relevant deployment and measures into practice. All regions should strengthen the complementarity of the Belt and Road Initiative and national strategies including coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin and-Hebei region, the development of Yangtze Economic Belt and great strait construction of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Marco. Meanwhile, opening-up in a larger sphere and a higher level is still needed in west and southeast to boost the in-land regions and borders to the frontier, forming an open landscape that interacts with in-land regions and coastal cities and complements south and east.
Han Zheng said Xi’s speech is from a commanding height. It takes overall situation and is full of connotations and deep thoughts, providing the basic principles for BRI. In order to achieve more tangible outcomes, each and every of us should conduct in-depth study and put it into practice with the spirit that time wait for no man. Han also advocated building the overall vision, intensifying the strategic thoughts, well planning and designing, strengthening the ability to prevent risks and paying attention to campaigns and options so as to complete the picture of BRI. The leading group of BRI needs to strengthen the coordination and guidance, improve the interaction between top and grassroots and promote the whole work mechanism. Regions, departments and institutions should take initiative to do a solid and effective job.
Ding Xuexiang, Liu He, Yang Jiechi, Hu Chunhua and Xiao Jie also attended the meeting.
Comrades from the institutions of the Leading Group of BRI, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the Supreme People’s Court, group leaders of the Leading Group of BRI from all-level government and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, relevant enterprisers, experts and scholars has also attended the symposium.