By China Daily-Xinhua |
chinawatch.cn |
Updated: 2019-04-28 14:48
President Xi Jinping and foreign dignitaries pose for a photo following the leaders' roundtable at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, April 27, 2019. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]
The Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held during April 25-27 in Beijing has witnessed the joint efforts of participants to refine the blueprint and push forward cooperation for the Belt and Road Initiative.
More than $64 billion in deals were signed during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
Parties reached 283 pragmatic outcomes, including intergovernmental cooperation agreements, cooperative projects and the launch of multilateral cooperation platforms.
The outcomes fully demonstrate that joint building of the Belt and Road conforms to the trend of the times, winning the hearts of the people, improving livelihoods and benefiting the whole world, President Xi Jinping said on April 27.
The BRI originated in China but its opportunities and outcomes belong to the world, Xi said, adding that the second forum sends a clear message to the world: The BRI will have a brighter future as the circle of its supporters expands, as good partners increase and as the quality of cooperation improves.
Around 5,000 people from some 150 countries and about 90 international organizations attended the forum.
Participants hailed the BRI as a great initiative for economic cooperation, saying it is conducive to promoting connectivity and enhancing international cooperation in fields such as trade, investment and sustainable development.
Leaders reached wide-ranging agreement on high-quality cooperation on the BRI at the leaders' roundtable on April 27 after an in-depth exchange of views on issues such as connectivity, policy integration and sustainable development.
They supported comprehensive infrastructure connectivity as a way to foster economic growth and to build high-quality, reliable, resilient and sustainable infrastructure, according to a joint communique issued after the roundtable.
All parties involved supported strengthening synergies in development policies using the principle of extensive consultations, joint contributions for shared benefits and building even closer partnerships, the joint communique said.
The leaders also upheld green and sustainable growth and agreed to enhance cooperation in areas such as environmental protection, circular economy and clean energy.
They maintained that Belt and Road construction will make positive contributions in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations.
The leaders also pledged to pursue trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, reject protectionism and unilateralism and uphold the rule-based multilateral system with the World Trade Organization at the center.
President Xi Jinping speaks at the opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on April 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]
President Xi delivered the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of forum on April 26, pledging to take strong measures such as easing market access for foreign capital and increasing imports to promote the higher-level opening-up of the country.
Noting that China has the world's biggest middle-income population, Xi said that China would open up its market continuously and welcome quality products from around the world.
He said China does not pursue a trade surplus intentionally, and it would like to import more competitive farm products, finished products and services to promote the balance of trade.
China will promote greater openness in modern services, manufacturing and agriculture, allow foreign capital to hold the controlling share in more areas and build some new free trade pilot zones to further ease market access for foreign capital.
China will speed up making relevant rules and regulations and ensure the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law, and push forward supply-side structural reform through fair competition and international cooperation.
China also hopes that other countries will create a good investment environment, treat Chinese enterprises, students and scholars equally and create a friendly environment for their normal international exchange activities.
Xi pledged to take stronger measures to promote international cooperation in protecting intellectual property, which he said is not only crucial to protecting the legal rights of companies but also to promoting high-quality growth.
Xi stressed the importance of fulfilling bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, saying that Chinese people value a promise as much as tons of gold.
Building infrastructure of high quality, sustainability, risk resilience, reasonable pricing, inclusiveness and accessibility under the Belt and Road Initiative was highlighted by Xi.
Infrastructure is a bottleneck in the development of many nations, Xi said, and building infrastructure can help countries give full play to their advantages in resources and better integrate into the global supply, industry and value chains.
Xi called on countries to uphold multilateralism, promote green development and fight corruption with zero tolerance in the process of building the Belt and Road.
China welcomes financial institutions around the world to participate in financing Belt and Road projects, Xi said, adding that multiple participants will bring common benefits.
Xi also announced that China will support 5,000 people from innovative sectors in Belt and Road countries in conducting exchanges, training programs and joint research in the next five years.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, his wife Peng Liyuan and guests of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation attend a banquet in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]
Western countries, many of which were represented at the forum by senior politicians, have increasingly embraced the initiative, and many experts believe this marked a turning point and that other Western countries will begin to give more support to the initiative.
David M. Rubenstein is co-founder and co-executive chairman of US global investment company, The Carlyle Group, one of the country's leading private equity investors.
"The Belt and Road has had a positive effect on China and I think it has been enormously positive on the countries in which they (China) have made investments," he said.
"Clearly, the US does not have anything comparable, and therefore we must recognize that we need to do more to be a visible force if we are going to have an impact on those countries (like China has had)."
Martin Sorrell
Martin Sorrell, founder of WPP, the world's largest advertising and public relations company and now executive chairman of S4 Capital, a marketing services company, wants to see the United Kingdom become more involved. The UK is represented at the forum by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who also attended in 2017.
"My view is that when the UK comes out of the European Union, if it does come out, it will have no choice. We will have to establish stronger relationships, both trading and political, with countries outside the EU, otherwise we will become increasingly marginalized," Sorrell said.
"I don't think we have yet put our best foot forward in China, and the question of whether we sign up to the BRI is just one of those decisions that has to be made."
Amitav Acharya, distinguished professor of international relations at the American University in Washington, said the challenge for the initiative at the forum will be to emerge as more multilateral.
"The initiative needs to have more collaboration with multilateral institutions. So if, for example, you have a project with country X and China provides funding but there is also additional money from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, it will become more integrated into the global governance system," he said.
Peter Frankopan
Peter Frankopan, professor of global history at Oxford University, believes it is the scale of the investment that remains the most impressive aspect of the initiative.
Frankopan said: "These projects, for the large part, do have the ability to raise living standards and do the kind of things that large-scale international development does."
"Five years is not a great period of time in historical terms to assess it. The key test will not be whether infrastructure projects look good, but whether they can actually significantly improve the GDP and productivity of China's neighbors," he said.
Justin Vaisse, director-general of the Paris Peace Forum, which held its first international summit last year, believes the BRI has to be seen as a step in the right direction.
"One's first reaction to the Belt and Road is that it is positive. It is an addition to connectivity, development and infrastructure, and not a subtraction," he said.
"At the moment, it is very plastic, very flexible. China has now grown in terms of being an economic power and is now a norm-setter. We want to see what sort of norms it wants to put in place and what mechanisms," he said.
Ian Goldin
Ian Goldin, professor of globalization and development at Oxford University who was economic adviser to late South African president Nelson Mandela, said the BRI is giving developing countries much more choice in terms of attracting finance.
"The only option for countries was to accept investment or aid from Europe, the US, or on the other side of the Cold War, the Soviet Union. Now, we are in an environment where countries have a choice because of the Belt and Road and they can decide for themselves what they do. This can only be a good thing," he said.
President Xi Jinping and foreign dignitaries pose for a photo following the leaders' roundtable at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, April 27, 2019. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]
The Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held during April 25-27 in Beijing has witnessed the joint efforts of participants to refine the blueprint and push forward cooperation for the Belt and Road Initiative.
More than $64 billion in deals were signed during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
Parties reached 283 pragmatic outcomes, including intergovernmental cooperation agreements, cooperative projects and the launch of multilateral cooperation platforms.
The outcomes fully demonstrate that joint building of the Belt and Road conforms to the trend of the times, winning the hearts of the people, improving livelihoods and benefiting the whole world, President Xi Jinping said on April 27.
The BRI originated in China but its opportunities and outcomes belong to the world, Xi said, adding that the second forum sends a clear message to the world: The BRI will have a brighter future as the circle of its supporters expands, as good partners increase and as the quality of cooperation improves.
Around 5,000 people from some 150 countries and about 90 international organizations attended the forum.
Participants hailed the BRI as a great initiative for economic cooperation, saying it is conducive to promoting connectivity and enhancing international cooperation in fields such as trade, investment and sustainable development.
Leaders reached wide-ranging agreement on high-quality cooperation on the BRI at the leaders' roundtable on April 27 after an in-depth exchange of views on issues such as connectivity, policy integration and sustainable development.
They supported comprehensive infrastructure connectivity as a way to foster economic growth and to build high-quality, reliable, resilient and sustainable infrastructure, according to a joint communique issued after the roundtable.
All parties involved supported strengthening synergies in development policies using the principle of extensive consultations, joint contributions for shared benefits and building even closer partnerships, the joint communique said.
The leaders also upheld green and sustainable growth and agreed to enhance cooperation in areas such as environmental protection, circular economy and clean energy.
They maintained that Belt and Road construction will make positive contributions in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations.
The leaders also pledged to pursue trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, reject protectionism and unilateralism and uphold the rule-based multilateral system with the World Trade Organization at the center.
President Xi Jinping speaks at the opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on April 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]
President Xi delivered the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of forum on April 26, pledging to take strong measures such as easing market access for foreign capital and increasing imports to promote the higher-level opening-up of the country.
Noting that China has the world's biggest middle-income population, Xi said that China would open up its market continuously and welcome quality products from around the world.
He said China does not pursue a trade surplus intentionally, and it would like to import more competitive farm products, finished products and services to promote the balance of trade.
China will promote greater openness in modern services, manufacturing and agriculture, allow foreign capital to hold the controlling share in more areas and build some new free trade pilot zones to further ease market access for foreign capital.
China will speed up making relevant rules and regulations and ensure the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law, and push forward supply-side structural reform through fair competition and international cooperation.
China also hopes that other countries will create a good investment environment, treat Chinese enterprises, students and scholars equally and create a friendly environment for their normal international exchange activities.
Xi pledged to take stronger measures to promote international cooperation in protecting intellectual property, which he said is not only crucial to protecting the legal rights of companies but also to promoting high-quality growth.
Xi stressed the importance of fulfilling bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, saying that Chinese people value a promise as much as tons of gold.
Building infrastructure of high quality, sustainability, risk resilience, reasonable pricing, inclusiveness and accessibility under the Belt and Road Initiative was highlighted by Xi.
Infrastructure is a bottleneck in the development of many nations, Xi said, and building infrastructure can help countries give full play to their advantages in resources and better integrate into the global supply, industry and value chains.
Xi called on countries to uphold multilateralism, promote green development and fight corruption with zero tolerance in the process of building the Belt and Road.
China welcomes financial institutions around the world to participate in financing Belt and Road projects, Xi said, adding that multiple participants will bring common benefits.
Xi also announced that China will support 5,000 people from innovative sectors in Belt and Road countries in conducting exchanges, training programs and joint research in the next five years.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, his wife Peng Liyuan and guests of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation attend a banquet in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]
Western countries, many of which were represented at the forum by senior politicians, have increasingly embraced the initiative, and many experts believe this marked a turning point and that other Western countries will begin to give more support to the initiative.
David M. Rubenstein is co-founder and co-executive chairman of US global investment company, The Carlyle Group, one of the country's leading private equity investors.
"The Belt and Road has had a positive effect on China and I think it has been enormously positive on the countries in which they (China) have made investments," he said.
"Clearly, the US does not have anything comparable, and therefore we must recognize that we need to do more to be a visible force if we are going to have an impact on those countries (like China has had)."
Martin Sorrell
Martin Sorrell, founder of WPP, the world's largest advertising and public relations company and now executive chairman of S4 Capital, a marketing services company, wants to see the United Kingdom become more involved. The UK is represented at the forum by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who also attended in 2017.
"My view is that when the UK comes out of the European Union, if it does come out, it will have no choice. We will have to establish stronger relationships, both trading and political, with countries outside the EU, otherwise we will become increasingly marginalized," Sorrell said.
"I don't think we have yet put our best foot forward in China, and the question of whether we sign up to the BRI is just one of those decisions that has to be made."
Amitav Acharya, distinguished professor of international relations at the American University in Washington, said the challenge for the initiative at the forum will be to emerge as more multilateral.
"The initiative needs to have more collaboration with multilateral institutions. So if, for example, you have a project with country X and China provides funding but there is also additional money from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, it will become more integrated into the global governance system," he said.
Peter Frankopan
Peter Frankopan, professor of global history at Oxford University, believes it is the scale of the investment that remains the most impressive aspect of the initiative.
Frankopan said: "These projects, for the large part, do have the ability to raise living standards and do the kind of things that large-scale international development does."
"Five years is not a great period of time in historical terms to assess it. The key test will not be whether infrastructure projects look good, but whether they can actually significantly improve the GDP and productivity of China's neighbors," he said.
Justin Vaisse, director-general of the Paris Peace Forum, which held its first international summit last year, believes the BRI has to be seen as a step in the right direction.
"One's first reaction to the Belt and Road is that it is positive. It is an addition to connectivity, development and infrastructure, and not a subtraction," he said.
"At the moment, it is very plastic, very flexible. China has now grown in terms of being an economic power and is now a norm-setter. We want to see what sort of norms it wants to put in place and what mechanisms," he said.
Ian Goldin
Ian Goldin, professor of globalization and development at Oxford University who was economic adviser to late South African president Nelson Mandela, said the BRI is giving developing countries much more choice in terms of attracting finance.
"The only option for countries was to accept investment or aid from Europe, the US, or on the other side of the Cold War, the Soviet Union. Now, we are in an environment where countries have a choice because of the Belt and Road and they can decide for themselves what they do. This can only be a good thing," he said.
