The ancient Silk Road stretches for thousands of miles and has lasted for thousands of years, accumulating the Silk Road spirit centered on peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit.
In the autumn of 2013, President Xi Jinping assessed the situation and proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, which became a milestone event in the history of human development.
Over the past 11 years, with the joint efforts of all parties, the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has transformed from concept to action, from vision to reality, from "freehand brushwork" to "fine brushwork", becoming the most extensive and largest international cooperation platform in the world, and has achieved tangible and profound results.
The ancient Silk Road is shining with new vitality. China will work hand in hand with all parties to promote the high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" to go deep and solid, and build a sunny road leading to a better future.
A 'development belt' that benefits the world
Drawing on the ancient Silk Road, with connectivity as the main line, we will strengthen policy communication, facility connectivity, trade facilitation, financial integration, and people to people exchanges with other countries, inject new momentum into world economic growth, open up new space for global development, and create new platforms for international economic cooperation
Great ideas embody the wisdom of history and inspire the direction of the future.
From drafting a cooperation blueprint for policy communication, facility connectivity, smooth trade, financial integration, and people to people connectivity, to proposing the principles of consultation, co construction, and sharing; From advocating the concepts of openness, greenness, and integrity, to proposing high standards, sustainability, and goals that benefit people's livelihoods... President Xi Jinping has pointed out the direction for all parties to work together to promote this pioneering cause.
Eleven years of spring blossoms and autumn fruits. The joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has yielded fruitful results:
——China has successfully held three "the Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forums and signed cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations to jointly build the "the Belt and Road";
——The interconnection framework of "six corridors, six roads, many countries and many ports" has basically taken shape, and a number of landmark projects have been completed, such as the China Laos Railway, Ya'an Wanzhou High speed Railway, Hungary Serbia Railway, Piraeus Port, etc;
——China has jointly established a multilateral development financing cooperation center with multilateral development banks. Development banks and import-export banks have set up RMB 350 billion financing windows respectively, basically establishing a diversified, stable, and sustainable investment and financing system;
——As of the end of September this year, the cumulative trade volume of goods between China and the co building countries has reached 160 trillion yuan. The number of mutual recognition agreements signed and the number of countries recognized by Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) ranks first in the world, and the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation has significantly improved
At 10:20 am on November 15th, at Chongqing Tuanjie Village Central Station. As the X8083 China Europe freight train (Chongqing Duisburg) slowly departs from the platform, the total number of China Europe freight trains has exceeded 100000.
Without stopping, this "steel caravan" traveling back and forth between the Eurasian continent has crossed new horizons and built a new platform for economic and trade cooperation along the route. Today, China Europe Express has reached 227 cities in 25 European countries and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries, which has become a vivid practice of high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".
The crowd gathered firewood and the flames were high, helping each other and walking far.
The joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" played a symphony of "hard connectivity", "soft connectivity" and "heart connectivity", opened up a new path for exchanges among countries, built a new framework for international cooperation, gathered the greatest common denominator of human common development, and became a "development belt" benefiting the world.
Jointly promote high-quality development and benefit the people
On October 26th of this year, the Kyrgyzstan Luban Workshop, constructed by Zhejiang, was officially unveiled at the Kyrgyzstan National Technical University located in the capital city of Bishkek.
Luban Workshop, named after Luban, an outstanding craftsman in ancient China, is an international exchange platform for vocational education. It is mainly to help the "the Belt and Road" co build countries to train technical talents, and is known as the "technical post" on the "the Belt and Road".
In May 2023, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the China Central Asia Summit, stating that "more Luban workshops should be established in Central Asian countries".
In 2016, the first Luban workshop, Luban Workshop Thailand, was launched. Over the past 8 years, China has cooperated to build more than 30 Luban workshops in the three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa. The cumulative education has trained nearly 10000 students and implemented vocational training for over 31000 people, building a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
The friendship between nations lies in people's matchmaking, and people's matchmaking lies in heart to heart communication.
Since the proposal of the "the Belt and Road" initiative, its constant goal is to benefit the people and people's livelihood. Over the past 11 years, a series of "small yet beautiful" and "beneficial yet practical" livelihood and people's livelihood projects have been implemented and put into practice
In December 2014, the Zemon Borca Bridge, located in the Serbian capital Belgrade and constructed by a Chinese company, was completed and opened to traffic, ending the nearly 70 year history of having only one bridge over the Danube River in Belgrade;
In December 2021, the whole China Laos railway will be put into operation, realizing Laos' long cherished wish to move from a "land locked country" to a "land linked country", making logistics transportation fast and cost controllable;
In March 2022, the Tebenkemeng China Cambodia Friendship Hospital, built with Chinese aid, was put into use, improving medical conditions in Cambodia and reducing local residents' medical expenses;
In August 2024, the reverse osmosis pump room of the upgrade and renovation project of the Aino Port Terminal in Nauru, undertaken by a Chinese enterprise, was officially put into operation, better meeting the normal water needs of local residents
Roads and railways, schools and hospitals have been built and put into use, and practical projects for people's livelihood have been accelerated, helping the people of the jointly built country solve urgent problems, improve production and living conditions, and bring tangible feelings of gain, happiness, and security.
In the story of development, people are always the most active protagonists. In the eyes of the people of the co construction country, the "the Belt and Road" is a better and better life, and also a bright light to illuminate the road ahead.
In Nadi, Fiji, at the China Pacific Island Countries Mushroom Grass Technology Demonstration Center, the giant mushroom grass grows astonishingly, growing 5 to 8 centimeters per day in November.
In 2012, Atreni Uinakalo, the Nandi Extension Officer of Fiji's Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways, worked closely with Chinese experts to introduce mushroom grass technology into Fiji. Mushroom grass can not only cultivate high-quality edible and medicinal fungi, but also serve as high-quality feed, driving the development of animal husbandry and becoming the 'golden key' for the people of Fiji to lift themselves out of poverty and become prosperous, "she said.
Through exchange and cooperation forms such as holding mushroom grass technology training courses and building mushroom grass technology demonstration bases, mushroom grass projects have now taken root in more than 100 countries, releasing huge potential in poverty alleviation, employment, desertification control, power generation and other fields, becoming a "happy grass" that benefits the world.
Across the vast ocean continent, people's hearts are connected. Deepening cooperation in education, science, culture, sports, tourism, archaeology and other fields; A number of "small and beautiful" brand highlights, such as Luban Workshop, "Guangmingxing" and Shicao, have promoted the co construction of national economic and social development and improved people's well-being... This road of development that benefits people all over the world is becoming wider and wider.
Joining hands to compose a new chapter in the Silk Road era
On November 14 local time, under the joint witness of the heads of China and Peru, representatives of both sides further signed the cooperation plan of jointly building the "the Belt and Road". China and Peru will deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in key areas such as infrastructure and logistics, trade and investment, and digital economy.
As the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has entered a new stage of high-quality development, more and more partner countries have gone both ways with China to jointly open a new chapter of cooperation.
In May, the secretariat of the "the Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum was unveiled, officially launching its work;
In September, the third "the Belt and Road" High level Conference on Intellectual Property announced that it would launch a number of new practical cooperation projects, such as patent accelerated examination pilot, geographical indication protection and cooperation pilot;
In October, the third "the Belt and Road" Energy Ministers' Meeting released the "the Belt and Road" Green Energy Cooperation Action Plan (2024-2029), further clarifying the "the Belt and Road" green energy cooperation action path
Since the beginning of this year, the cooperation between all parties has been deepening, and the high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has gone deep and solid.
Currently, the world's century long changes are accelerating, and the changes in the world, the times, and history are unfolding in unprecedented ways. Countries urgently need to bridge differences through dialogue and promote development through cooperation, so that the significance of jointly building the "the Belt and Road" is more obvious and the prospect is brighter.
To jointly build the "the Belt and Road" with high quality, China has determination, sincerity and action:
In October 2023, during the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, President Xi Jinping announced China's eight actions to support high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road.
More than a year later, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the first phase of the 19th G20 Summit, announcing China's eight actions to support global development. Among them, "Jointly building the the Belt and Road with high quality" is the first of the eight actions.
Shared destiny, walking together in pursuit of dreams.
This is an increasingly broad "road of cooperation" - China will accelerate the high-quality development of China Europe freight trains, actively promote the integrated development of "Silk Road maritime" ports and trade, and sign free trade agreements and investment protection agreements with more countries.
This is a "development road" full of opportunities - China will continue to deepen cooperation in green infrastructure, green energy, green transportation and other fields, continue to implement the "the Belt and Road" scientific and technological innovation action plan, and support young scientists from all countries to work in China for a short time.
This is the highly anticipated "inclusive path" - China will continue to implement the Rural Poverty Reduction Promotion Plan and Poverty Reduction Demonstration Cooperation Technical Assistance Project, which is expected to lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty in relevant co built countries by 2030. At the same time, promote the effective connection and synergy between the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The road is underfoot, the dream is ahead. China will join hands with the world to unswervingly promote the high-quality development of the "the Belt and Road" and jointly paint a beautiful picture of building a community with a shared future for mankind.