On April 20, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech entitled “Together in the Same Boat to Overcome the Difficulties, Destiny and Create the Future Together” at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia 2021 Annual Conference. President Xi Jinping pointed out that we will continue to work with all parties to build the “Belt and Road” with high quality, practice the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, promote the concepts of openness, greenness, and integrity, and strive to achieve high standards, people’s livelihood, and sustainable goals. President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech contributed to the global governance event and the ensemble “One Belt, One Road” strong voice that contributed to the Chinese concept and Chinese plan. Foreign officials, experts and scholars interviewed by our reporter said that the “Belt and Road” is an important link for the common development of China and the world, and it provides a new platform and new opportunities for the development of countries along the route that are mutually beneficial and win-win.
Work together to eradicate poverty and promote balanced development
China initiated the “Belt and Road” initiative to promote the economic development of countries along the route, help them achieve the poverty reduction goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and promote greater, higher, and deeper regional economic and social development cooperation. A related World Bank report believes that by 2030, the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” is expected to help 7.6 million people around the world get out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty.
The rice fields are drooping, and the China-Africa Saisai agricultural cooperation project invested and managed by the China-Africa Fund and China Railway 20th Bureau in Mozambique ushered in a bumper season. Recently, the Prime Minister of Mozambique, Do Rosario, attended the National Agricultural Conference and personally presented the “Excellent Agricultural Trade Enterprise” award to the project. “From the initial signing of dozens of farmers to more than 2,000 partners, China’s advanced agricultural technology has become a magic weapon for Mozambican farmers to get rid of poverty and become rich.” said Higino Marule, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Mozambique. The construction of the “Belt and Road” has created a way for local people to get rich and promoted the deepening of South-South cooperation.
The Karuma Hydropower Project undertaken by a Chinese company is one of Uganda’s “Top Ten Infrastructure Projects”. After it is put into operation, it will greatly increase Uganda’s power generation capacity and break the bottleneck of power shortage that restricts Uganda’s economic development. Karuma Village near the project was once a remote village, and now hotels, shopping malls, and office buildings have sprung up here. Village Mayor Severino Opio foresaw that “the future hydropower station will also drive eco-tourism, and our days will get better and better.”
“Now, you can drive to different places in Uganda by car on asphalt roads, and most of these roads are built by Chinese companies.” Richard Tao Dewang, deputy general secretary of the National Resistance Movement, the ruling party in Uganda, said with emotion and jointly built the “Belt and Road.” It has promoted the connectivity of countries and regions along the route, and has been welcomed by local people. This is the attraction of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”.
Hanat Besek, vice chairman of the World Kazakh Congress in Kazakhstan, said that the “Belt and Road” initiative is an important link to promote the common development of China and the world. Building the “Belt and Road” into the “Road to Poverty Reduction” and “Road to Growth” will inject confidence and impetus into the development of the global post-epidemic era.
Help interconnection and achieve mutual benefit and win-win
Building the “Belt and Road” together pursues development, advocates a win-win situation, and conveys hope. The “Asian Economic Prospects and Integration Process” report recently released by the Boao Forum for Asia pointed out that facing the test of the epidemic, the construction of the “Belt and Road” has shown strong resilience and vitality, related projects have continued to advance, cooperation results have many highlights, trade and investment Growth against the trend has become a bright spot in the haze of the epidemic.
Last year, under the raging epidemic situation, China’s non-financial direct investment in countries along the route was US$17.8 billion, an increase of 18.3% year-on-year; direct investment in the entire industry in countries along the route was US$18.61 billion, an increase of 14% year-on-year. A large number of Chinese overseas projects and park construction have been steadily progressing to overcome the challenges of the epidemic. Major projects such as the China-Laos Railway and the Yawan Railway have made positive progress. There are 13 new enterprises in the China-Belarus Industrial Park. At the same time, companies from countries along the route are also optimistic about China’s development opportunities. In the first quarter of this year, countries along the Belt and Road established 1,241 new enterprises in China, a sharp increase of 44% year-on-year, and the actual investment was US$3.25 billion, a year-on-year increase of 64.6%.
The Asia-Djibouti Railway undertaken by a Chinese enterprise is an important project for realizing interconnection in East Africa. During the epidemic prevention and control period, the Yaji Railway took on the responsibility of protecting people’s livelihood. More than 1.5 million tons of livelihood necessities, epidemic prevention materials, and industrial raw materials were continuously transported from the port of Djibouti to the inland of Ethiopia. Last year, the total freight volume increased by 35% year-on-year. Effectively alleviated the cargo backlog in Djibouti Port and improved the efficiency of the transfer of important materials in East Africa.
Melaku Mulualem, director of the training department of the Ethiopian International Peace and Development Institute, said that wherever the infrastructure is repaired, the economy can become active. Today, 10 of the 13 industrial parks planned along the Asia-Djibouti Railway have been completed, creating more than 100,000 jobs. “Participating in the joint construction of the’Belt and Road’ will usher in hope and reap benefits. With the help of China, the East Africa region has become a model for the rapid development of connectivity in the African continent. This connectivity effect will also benefit the African Continental Free Trade Zone that will start operations this year. .”
In Albania, Tirana International Airport and Banks Oilfield, invested and operated by Chinese companies, not only promoted the economic development of Albania, but also created many jobs for local people and greatly improved their living standards. “Building a closer partnership of openness and inclusiveness means that all countries can benefit from it and benefit the people of the world.” said Marcela Mousabeliu, executive director of the Albanian Institute of Globalization. “Openness and inclusiveness is the foundation of development. Retreat Isolation will only hurt and hinder progress.”
Lucio Pitlow, an international relations researcher at the Asia Pacific Association Foundation, a think tank in the Philippines, said that China is the locomotive of economic recovery in Asia and the world, and the steady recovery of the Chinese economy will bring huge spillover effects. By helping regional partners create jobs, provide opportunities, etc., the “Belt and Road” cooperation will promote the recovery of Asian countries and the global economy.
Practicing green concepts and building beautiful homes
Strengthen cooperation in the fields of green infrastructure, green energy, and green finance, and improve multilateral cooperation platforms such as the “Belt and Road” green development international alliance and the “Belt and Road” green investment principles, so that green can effectively become the background color of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”. China regards cooperation in the field of ecological civilization as the key content of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, launched a series of green action initiatives, and adopted a series of measures to continue to benefit the people of all countries participating in the joint construction.
During the construction of the second phase of the UHV DC transmission project in the beautiful mountains of Brazil, China hired more than 600 plant and animal experts to carry out environmental protection related work; in the Padma water plant project in Bangladesh, China took a series of measures to deal with pollution problems. Realize the recycling of production water; Pakistan’s Kalote Hydropower Station, invested and developed by Three Gorges Group, formulated the Biodiversity Management Plan and introduced fish protection measures before its construction; Ghana Temaxin, which was constructed by China Harbour, a subsidiary of China Communications Group The container terminal project has established a “turtle breeding center” and organized professional sea turtle protection patrols… the actual actions show that China and other countries are working together to create a green “Belt and Road” initiative.
Ong Shijie, chairman of Malaysia’s New Asia Strategic Research Center, said that most of the “Belt and Road” routes are developing countries, facing the challenge of striking a balance between economic development and environmental protection. China has gained a lot of successful experience in the construction of ecological civilization. Provide useful reference for partners in the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”.
“Successful practice in the past few years has proved that China’s green development concept has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and will help achieve high-quality joint construction of the’Belt and Road’ and improve global governance.” Mauricio Santoro, Director of the Department of International Relations, Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil Say.
