3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing conceded to usher in a new stage of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation through among others, building an open world economy, promoting deep integration of digital technologies and the real economy, further building the Green Silk Road and so on.
The just-concluded 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing was a great success. A total of more than 10,000 representatives from 151 countries and 41 international organizations took part in the Forum. Once again, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) demonstrated its tremendous appeal and global influence. Over the past decade, the BRI has benefited more than 150 countries and opened up a road of cooperation, opportunity and prosperity leading to common development. The BRI has become the world’s most popular international public goods and the largest international cooperation platform.
At the opening ceremony, President Xi Jinping pointed out in his keynote speech that humankind is a community with a shared future and only through win-win cooperation can we achieve success. He then announced eight major steps China will take to support our joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, including building a multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network, supporting an open world economy, carrying out practical cooperation, promoting green development, advancing scientific and technological innovation, supporting people-to-people exchanges, promoting integrity-based Belt and Road cooperation, strengthening institutional building for international Belt and Road cooperation.
This forum has four key focuses. First, the clearest message from this Forum is unity, cooperation, openness and win-win outcome. Amidst great transformations unseen in a century, Belt and Road cooperation will always bring stability and positive energy to the world.
Second, the most important consensus of this Forum is to usher in a new stage of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. These include building an open world economy, promoting deep integration of digital technologies and the real economy, further building the Green Silk Road and so on.
Third, the most ambitious vision of this Forum is to realize global modernization through joint efforts. President Xi Jinping proposed for the first time that global modernization should be pursued through the joint efforts of all countries to enhance peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation and bring prosperity to all. He announced at the opening ceremony that China will further expand market access; deepen reform in areas including the state-owned enterprises, digital economy, intellectual property and government procurement; and enter into free trade agreements and investment protection treaties with more countries.
Fourth, the defining feature of this Forum is that it is action-oriented, efficient and pragmatic. To advance Belt and Road cooperation, we need to build consensus for collaboration and, more importantly, take concrete actions. Under the guidance of eight major steps, China will promote both signature projects and “small yet smart” livelihood programs. The China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China will each set up a 350 billion RMB financing window. An additional 80 billion RMB will be injected into the Silk Road Fund. Together, they will support BRI projects on the basis of market and business operation.
Africa is an active and important participant in the Belt and Road Initiative. The BRI has blazed a new path for China-Africa exchanges and cooperation. China-Africa relations have continuously reached a new height and entered into a new stage of jointly building a high-standard China-Africa community with a shared future in the past decade. Through BRI and guided by the principle of sincerity, real results, amity, and good faith, China has helped build more than 6,000 km of railway, over 6,000 km of highways and more than 80 large power facilities on the African continent. Numerous landmark projects have emerged, including the African Union Headquarters, the Headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). China and Africa have carried out extensive production capacity cooperation, with investment in 52 African countries, creating millions of jobs for Africa. China’s investment stock in Africa has increased from 21.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2012 to 56 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, and the areas of investment in Africa are constantly expanding.
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Under the framework of the BRI, China-Lesotho cooperation has yielded fruitful results. The Mpiti to Sehlabathebe Road Project is a vivid practice between China and Lesotho to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative. The Project aims to upgrade the 91km-long road from gravel to asphalt, and will highly improve the mobility in the eastern mountainous areas of Lesotho, make positive contributions to tourism as well as its economic and social development. The Juncao (mushroom) program is another concrete example under the Belt and Road initiative. Up to now, Chinese government has carried out four phases of Juncao program in Lesotho, provided new avenues for job creation and poverty alleviation, significantly promoted sustainable economic development in Lesotho.
The Belt and Road Initiative originated in China, but its achievements and opportunities belong to the world, bringing blessings to Africa and benefiting Lesotho. China will take the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity to work with Africa, follow the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution for shared benefits, adhere to the concept of open, green and clean cooperation, seek the goal of high-standard, sustainable and beneficial to livelihood. China will continue to expand cooperation with Lesotho in various fields, explore potential in areas such as infrastructure, modern agriculture, renewable energy, capacity-building, health-care and so on, elevate the friendly relationship between China and Lesotho to new heights.
(H.E.Lei Kezhong is the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Kingdom of Lesotho).