BEIJING: China has categorically stated that Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a major platform for building a global community of shared future.
In a White Paper released by the State Council Information Office, Beijing said it is an initiative for common development and also for protecting human rights.
According to the White Paper, the Belt and Road Initiative promotes infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity and targets high-standard, sustainable and people-centred goals. According to a World Bank study, the initiative could help lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty.
China is also striving to create a just and rational global environmental governance system driven by cooperation and mutual benefit.
The volume of direct investments by Chinese companies in the economies of the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative have continued to grow rapidly, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week.
“Over the past eight years, the Belt and Road Initiative has turned from a sketch into a reality, providing tremendous opportunities and bonuses to countries around the world,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website quoted him as saying at a video conference on cooperation within the framework of the initiative in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The aggregate trade between China and the countries participating in the One Belt, One Road initiative has exceeded $9.2 trillion. Direct investments of Chinese companies in the countries of the project have exceeded $130 billion,” Wang said.
He also pointed out that despite the difficult epidemic situation, trade between China and the countries of the initiative reached a record $1.35 trillion in 2020. That had a positive impact on combating the consequences of the Covid pandemic, stabilising the economy and protecting the welfare of the population.
The ambitious multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (also known as the ‘New Silk Road’), announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to boost connectivity and cooperation between East Asia, Europe and East Africa. It is expected to significantly expand global trade, cutting trading costs in half for the countries involved. – TLTP
