General

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of jointly building the "the Belt and Road". Today, the "the Belt and Road" initiative has become an important global public product, enriching the mechanism and content of international development cooperation. At the Boao Forum for Asia 2023 Annual Conference, co building the "the Belt and Road" has become a hot topic among guests. At the forum on the theme of "the Belt and Road: Sharing Development Opportunities" held in the afternoon of March 28, the participants expressed their expectation that "the the Belt and Road" could write more development miracles and inject strong new momentum into the economic and trade cooperation between countries along the "the Belt and Road".

Important global public goods

From the original blueprint to today's reality, the "the Belt and Road" initiative has turned into the actual effect of national development and benefits of serving people's livelihood. In the past 10 years, the initiative has stimulated nearly trillions of dollars in investment, formed more than 3000 cooperation projects, created 420000 jobs for countries and regions along the line, and lifted nearly 40 million people out of poverty. Jin Yong, partner and vice chairman of the Global Infrastructure Partnership and former President of the World Bank, said that the "the Belt and Road" has become a model of infrastructure construction and has played a role in promoting human development. "China has won the largest battle against poverty in human history, providing people with medical security and educational resources, so that people can have a better environment to develop. Through the the Belt and Road Initiative, more countries can learn from China's experience."

Renate Bekturwolf, president of Astana International Financial Center, believes that the "the Belt and Road" initiative has had a tremendous impact on the world. Since Kazakhstan joined the "the Belt and Road" initiative, many projects have changed from vision to reality. For example, the Khorgos Dongmen Dry Port Project in Kazakhstan is one of the first key projects of China Kazakhstan production capacity cooperation and has become the largest dry port in Central Asia; Cross border railway networks have become increasingly important transportation arteries; The "intermediate corridor" has developed rapidly, and Kazakhstan's exports have increased sixfold due to the "intermediate corridor". "The 'the Belt and Road' infrastructure is not only a route for transporting goods, but also has a significant impact on Kazakhstan. Now our products can be transported and exported, making the whole business profit from it."

In the opinion of Iqbal, Minister of Planning of Pakistan, one of the highlights of the "the Belt and Road" is China's spirit of sharing. "I am very grateful to China for having such a vision and being able to share China's prosperity with other developing countries." Iqbal said that in this process, China has no obligations to other countries, but is committed to promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity through common prosperity. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reported.

"Although Europe and Asia are two continents, they share a common continent, and the 'the Belt and Road' connects Europe and Asia, which is a very beautiful vision." Bowule, director of Ambos, a European consulting union from Italy, said that Italy was the first member of the Group of Seven to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the "the Belt and Road" initiative with China. "The 'the Belt and Road' initiative is not only a Chinese initiative, but also a project of all co constructing national governments, and many enterprises can benefit from it. Italy has a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises, who are very willing to participate in the joint construction of the 'the Belt and Road' project." said Bowule.

In response to the recent argument that the "the Belt and Road" has created a "debt trap", Kim Yong said that when a crisis occurs, the statement that debt has trapped some countries is "meaningless". "We need to focus on debt, but if there is no infrastructure construction, how can these countries escape poverty and become rich? How can they repay their debts?" Kim Yong said, as reported by Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch.

Driving Digital Transformation

The importance of digital transformation in achieving sustainable growth, improving operational efficiency, and spawning new business models is accelerating. How should countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" strengthen cooperation and promote digital transformation?

"Digitalization has changed the prospects for economic development and brought various conveniences. The development of digital banking and trade has benefited from digitization." Reinat Bekturwolf said that trade is not only a hard facility, but also a soft connection. Digitalization can improve the efficiency of goods flow between various countries, not only saving costs, but also reducing trade barriers. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

Bowoole also believes that in addition to improving the infrastructure hardware, it also needs to strengthen the interconnection software. It is suggested to establish a common agreement for the digital cooperation in the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", so as to improve the communication efficiency between different countries and regions.

Iqbal said that the most advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and biomedicine can bring significant improvements in productivity, but the digital divide between developing and developed countries is real. What needs to be done now is, on the one hand, to carry out digital transformation in various fields, and on the other hand, not to allow digitization to continue to widen the gap between rich and poor. "It is hoped that more sharing platforms will be established through the the Belt and Road to enable member countries to share their digital experience."

Promote green and low-carbon development

Green is the distinctive background of high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". Over the past 10 years, China has worked with all parties to improve the "the Belt and Road" green development cooperation mechanism, and jointly launched the "the Belt and Road" green development partnership initiative with 31 co construction countries. Participants said that looking ahead to the second decade, the countries jointly built along the "the Belt and Road" will accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation and jointly address environmental and climate challenges.

"We have only one earth home, and sustainable development is the common topic of mankind. Although fossil energy is cheap for a mining country like Kazakhstan, we must consider its long-term impact. If we do not invest in renewable resources now, we will pay the price tomorrow." Renat Bekturwolf said that the "the Belt and Road" project is only committed to promoting carbon neutrality, To be more attractive to investors. In fact, the "the Belt and Road" initiative can also serve as a platform for knowledge sharing and mechanism sharing, and strengthen cooperation in areas such as promoting the construction of carbon emission trading system. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

Iqbal said that Pakistan is deeply affected by climate change and hopes to promote green development under the framework of the "the Belt and Road" and other government projects. Currently, Pakistan is vigorously promoting energy conservation plans and actively developing renewable energy. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor has constructed a large number of green energy projects such as hydropower, wind power, and photovoltaic, effectively promoting the construction of green energy in Pakistan. "We should explore and utilize new technologies to solve the problems caused by the environmental crisis," Iqbal said.