Wednesday, January 18, 2017 will go down in history as the day China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached the UK.

At just after 1pm in Barking, some 16 kilometers east of central London, a train laden with suitcases, clothes and household goods rolled into the town’s 165-year-old station to much fanfare. Its arrival marked the conclusion of its journey from the Chinese city of Yiwu, a mammoth 18-day, 12,000-kilometer trip, and one that showed the world the potential of the 21st-century Silk Road proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping back in 2013.

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was announced in Kazakhstan over five years ago, we’ve seen the "the project of the century" go from a concept on the drawing board to the reality of roads, rail tracks and ports. More than 100 countries and international organizations have signed up to the initiative, and some $350 billion has been committed to projects by organizations like the Silk Road Fund, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank.

Much of this financing was announced at the Belt and Road Forum in 2017 in Beijing, which the 2017-2018 Lord Mayor of London Charles Bowman attended on behalf of the City of London Corporation. The event, which produced some 270 project agreements, also saw President Xi take to the stage to tell the world more about China’s objectives for the BRI, which he called a new win-win model based on cooperation.

All eyes will be on Beijing again at this year’s BRI Forum in April, which I am scheduled to attend. The event will again provide the world a stage to review progress in the initiative, as well as a platform to look ahead to next steps. But importantly, it also gives us an opportunity to look back at what has already been achieved, particularly in terms of UK-China cooperation, where we’ve seen many developments over the last five years.

The UK now has a BRI envoy in the form of Sir Douglas Flint, who in turn chairs a BRI board of British businesses and government partners, including the City Corporation. I’m pleased to say many of these firms accompanied the late Lord Mayor Charles Bowman on a BRI-focused visit to China in 2018, where we saw first-hand the opportunities for further cooperation between our two countries in the initiative.

After all, I have long said that London, and indeed the UK as a whole, is the natural Western end of the BRI, and can support it by being a key hub for the financing and professional services required.

With its unrivalled talent pool of financial and professional services, the City of London has so much to offer the BRI, from consultancy, legal services and foreign exchange to fintech, accountancy and infrastructure financing, for which we have hundreds of years of experience and countless success stories to share.

As a result we are well placed to support partners in China and across the world to ensure the initiative is a success, particularly in terms of projects in third countries where UK and Chinese strengths are complementary.

And it’s here where we’re already seeing results for both sides, or to quote President Xi: win-win cooperation.

In the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and even in the UK, firms such as Standard Chartered, HSBC, Linklaters, Clifford Chance and UK Export Finance are working hand-in-hand with Chinese partners, providing services such as banking, legal advice and financing.

Elsewhere, we now know a lot more about deals and opportunities along the Belt and Road thanks to valuable data collated by tools such as ICBC’s BRI index and Refinitiv’s BRI Connect, both of which provide investors and businesses with information and risk analysis on countries, organizations and projects. These tools sit alongside reports by rating agencies like the London and US-based Fitch, which has conducted in-depth BRI country studies.

Yes, there is still work to be done, but what is obvious is that the conversation has moved on from "what constitutes a Belt and Road project" to "where are the business opportunities?" There is growing awareness of projects, deals and opportunities in BRI countries, and the potential rewards available for private sector players from international financial centers across the world.

This last point is an important one. As anyone in London will tell you, the Belt and Road is simply too big a project for one financial hub to provide all the support required, and international financial centers, traditionally competitors, need to work together to make it a success.

Conversations have already begun in this respect with Hong Kong, a fellow international financial center, and a key partner of the UK.

In 2017 the City of London Corporation joined the BRI-focused Hong Kong Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office, a body which facilitates infrastructure investment and financing. This was followed up by visits in 2018 and in February by the late and current Lord Mayors of London, who visited the city to discuss how we can boost cooperation in Belt and Road countries.

Elsewhere, we are working to support the BRI by encouraging dialogue and facilitating conversations between firms in the UK and countries involved. We also share knowledge and expertise in key areas, like green finance.

Late last year the City of London Corporation’s Green Finance Initiative, in partnership with China’s Green Finance Committee, published a set of Green Investment Principles for the BRI based on existing responsible investment initiatives.

Drafted by a number of organizations including the World Economic Forum, UNPRI(UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment), Belt & Road Bankers Roundtable, the Green Belt and Road Investor Alliance and the Paulson Institute, the principles provide an example framework on how firms and organizations can incorporate low-carbon and sustainable development into BRI projects.

While not providing a silver bullet solution to the issue of ensuring sustainability in the Belt and Road, they nonetheless give us a platform for discussion about the issue.

After all, with any initiative of this scale there are bound to be challenges and bumps on the road, which is why it is crucial Belt and Road projects, like any infrastructure venture, need to be transparent and sustainable, both in terms of finance but also in their impact on the environment. More accountability and oversight should always be welcomed.

If Brexit has taught the UK anything it’s that we need to be bold, and we need to embrace opportunities for trade in this ever more connected world. The Belt and Road is a perfect example of how we can do this, leveraging our existing strengths for the mutual benefit of countries across the world.

So here’s to more trains from China arriving in Barking. And more from the UK traveling across the world to Yiwu.

Catherine McGuinness is chair of the Policy and Resources Committee, City of London Policy.

The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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