In the small town of Zhanatas in southern Kazakhstan, a wind farm boasting a capacity of 100 megawatts powers approximately one million Kazakh homes, harnessing clean electricity through its array of 40 wind turbines. This project was put into operation in June 2021, representing one of the pioneering projects co-established by China and Kazakhstan under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Ten years after the BRI was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, foreign leaders and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General gathered in Beijing for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) on Wednesday, marking another significant milestone in the process of jointly building the Belt and Road.
Fruitful outcomes
At the opening ceremony of the BRF, Xi unveiled eight major steps to bring Belt and Road cooperation to a new stage of higher-quality and higher-level development.
He stressed that China will speed up high-quality development of China-Europe Railway Express and, together with other parties, build a new logistics corridor across the Eurasian continent linked by direct railway and road transportation.
Also, China will enter into free trade agreements and investment protection treaties with more countries and remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector, Xi said.
In addition, the president pledged more commitment into green development, scientific and technological innovation, people-to-people exchanges, integrity-based Belt and Road cooperation, and the institutional building for international Belt and Road cooperation.
“It was an inspiring speech. It delivered clear messages on the future of the Belt and Road cooperation and how China’s robust economic growth will benefit the world as well as foreign investors like us,” said Atakan Bozkurt, chief executive officer of Burger King China.
During the BRF, a total of 458 outcomes were achieved, including a series of international cooperation proposals, multilateral cooperation outcome documents, practical cooperation projects and bilateral cooperation agreements.
At the high-level forums on Wednesday, China and its partners announced multiple cooperative programs on connectivity, green development and digital economy.
To promote multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network, a set of collaboration agreements in the infrastructure sector was released.
Also, China and five Central Asian countries launched an action plan to promote cooperation on green technology in ecology, agriculture, and biodiversity to further green development.
Digital economy has become essential for promoting global economic development and change. China proposed to strengthen information exchange and technical cooperation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance and prevent risks together.
Looking back
Over the past 10 years, the Belt and Road cooperation has made historic achievements.
From the Zhanatas wind farm in Kazakhstan to the Bogota Metro Line 1 project in Colombia, its network has extended from the Eurasian continent to Africa and Latin America. More than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations have signed cooperation documents with China.
Besides, China has cooperated with various parties to carry out more than 3,000 practical projects, attracting nearly $1 trillion of investment.
Looking forward
Foreign leaders complimented that the China-proposed BRI has effectively promoted the progress of our planet. They vow to deepen Belt and Road cooperation to achieve higher-quality and higher-level common development in the next “golden decade.”
Hailing China as a “true friend” of Argentina, President Alberto Fernandez said the Belt and Road cooperation has created important opportunities for developing countries and played an irreplaceable role in promoting world peace, fairness and sustainable development.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on all partner countries to collectively make the BRI stronger and more impactful.
“I would like to thank the Chinese government and President Xi Jinping for their contributions to developing countries through the BRI. I hope the synergy of BRI in infrastructure development can always be strengthened,” said Widodo on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the BRF.
“Let’s move forward persistently together to promote economic development and realize people’s welfare,” Widodo said.