General

New forces in international trade! 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the "the Belt and Road Initiative". What progress and experience has the "the Belt and Road" initiative achieved in the past decade? Standing at the node of the tenth anniversary, how can the "the Belt and Road" accumulate strength to start again in the face of the current complex and severe international environment?

Recently, the seminar on "Progress and Assessment of the 10th Anniversary of the the Belt and Road" jointly sponsored by Chongyang Institute of Finance of Renmin University of China and Silk Road College of Renmin University of China was held in Beijing. Many experts and scholars reviewed and looked forward to the 10th anniversary of the the Belt and Road construction.

In the ten years since the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", we have achieved fruitful results. Wang Yi, vice president of Renmin University of China, said that the "the Belt and Road" initiative has formed more than 3000 cooperation projects focusing on infrastructure construction, and has built "heart to heart bridges", "roads to become rich", "development ports" and "happy cities", which are highly recognized by all parties. Chinese enterprises have invested 397.9 billion yuan in the cooperation zones built in countries along the line, creating 421000 jobs for the local people.

Since the implementation of the "the Belt and Road" initiative nearly a decade ago, from the concept to consensus, from ramming the foundation, erecting the column and beam to comprehensive development, the international influence has been constantly improving. The "the Belt and Road" has become the largest platform for international trade cooperation, and more than two-thirds of the world's countries have reached a consensus with China on jointly building the "the Belt and Road". According to the World Bank research report, by 2030, the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" is expected to help 7.6 million people get rid of extreme poverty and 32 million people get rid of moderate poverty.

New forces in international trade! Chen Wenling, chief economist of the China International Economic Exchange Center, said that the "the Belt and Road" represents the interests of the majority of the people and the interests of the least developed, most in need of development, the poorest and most vulnerable small and medium-sized countries in the world. The construction of the "the Belt and Road" has found a way for these countries to develop through connectivity, and let these countries see the vision of development.

She said frankly that "this is a very great event and landmark project in the history of human development". Although some people discredit and distort the "the Belt and Road" initiative, the number of countries joining the initiative is increasing, which also shows the strength of the "the Belt and Road" demonstration project.

According to Zhai Dongsheng, director of the "the Belt and Road" Construction Promotion Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, a decade of joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has achieved a good start. First of all, it has created a very reliable "circle of friends", strengthened the global interconnection network, and spread infrastructure projects around the world.

New forces in international trade! Secondly, it has rebuilt the bridge of economic, trade and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and helped to solve some common problems facing mankind, such as green and low-carbon development, health and health cooperation, and international poverty reduction.

For China, the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has greatly improved the breadth, depth and level of China's opening up, especially stimulated two-way trade and investment, promoted the opening up of the central and western regions, and helped to form a new pattern of all-round opening up.

However, Zhai Dongsheng also pointed out that at present, the international situation is complex, severe and unpredictable, and the next decade of jointly building the "the Belt and Road" will still be a period of opportunities and risks. As a world project and a century project, the 10-year joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" is still in the "juvenile period", so naturally there are "growing pains", but this can not stop the pace of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".

How can the "the Belt and Road Initiative" go forward steadily in the next decade?

He Weiwen, the executive director of the China International Trade Association and the chief expert of the Expert Committee, pointed out that in the second decade, the "the Belt and Road" should have a huge improvement in both its thinking and development pattern, that is, it should become a more powerful carrier of globalization and multilateralism, and an indispensable and powerful component of the existing multilateral mechanism.

Zhai Dongsheng pointed out that the future "the Belt and Road" initiative needs to expand new areas while stabilizing the basic situation. China needs to continue to add new vitality and new impetus to the joint construction, and it needs to more steadily coordinate the relationship between construction and security to create a more harmonious atmosphere of international public opinion.

In Chen Wenling's view, the "the Belt and Road" initiative is a long-term, transnational and systematic major project, which cannot be accomplished overnight. The "the Belt and Road" must be based on joint construction, rather than relying solely on China's own efforts. She stressed that the work related to the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" must be done well, deeply, carefully and realistically, and the "Silk Road Spirit" of the "the Belt and Road" must be transformed into the spiritual wealth of the world.