Belt and Road Forum 2023 (Photo: AFP/Xinhua/Shen Hong)
27/06/2025 06:00
Openness is a distinctive feature of Chinese modernization, and adhering to opening up to the outside world is a fundamental national policy of China. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not only a major measure for China to expand opening-up but also China’s solution to address global development challenges. In 2013, President Xi Jinping put forward the Belt and Road Initiative. For more than 10 years, the BRI has developed from an idea into actions and from a vision into reality, achieving significant historical milestones. China has signed over 230 cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations, resulting in over 3,000 cooperative projects and nearly US $1 trillion of investment. The BRI has created numerous national landmarks, livelihood projects and flagship projects, pioneering new concepts, paradigms and paths for international exchanges. It has injected new vitality and opened new spaces for the development and prosperity of the world.
The world is currently undergoing a profound transformation. A new wave of technological and industrial revolutions is advancing, the international power balance is experiencing significant adjustments, and the “Global South” is growing with a strong momentum. The trends of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit are becoming the common aspirations of the people and the inevitable direction of history. Meanwhile, anti-globalization sentiment is rising, and unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, along with frequent regional conflicts and turbulence as well as worsening global issues. Nevertheless, looking at the world from a broader perspective, the overall direction of human development and progress will not change, the overall dynamics of world history moving forward amid twists and turns will not change, and the overall trend toward a shared future for the international community will not change. China will improve mechanisms for promoting high quality Belt and Road cooperation, collaborating with participating countries to make the pie of opening up bigger and list of cooperation longer, so as to collectively create a symphony of “hard connectivity”, “soft connectivity” and “people-to-people connectivity”.
Promoting Quality Enhancement and Systemic Upgrading of “Hard Connectivity” in Infrastructure. Driven by the BRI, cooperation in fields such as infrastructure and connectivity has gained global attention over the past decade. Key corridors like the China-Europe Railway Express, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the Zhengzhou–Luxembourg “Air Silk Road” have been continuously improved. Landmark projects such as the China-Laos Railway, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the Hungary-Serbia Railway and the Port of Piraeus have been successfully carried out, while the connectivity framework of “Six Corridors, Six Connectivity Routes, Multiple Countries and Ports” has largely taken shape. International multimodal transport corridors have been expanding, playing a positive role in maintaining the stability and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains. China will continue to improve the integrated framework for land, sea, air, and cyberspace connectivity and build a multidimensional network to connect countries along the Belt and Road, advancing major landmark projects and “small but beautiful” public welfare projects. China will collaborate with all parties to establish new logistics corridors between Asia and Europe supported by rail and road transport, vigorously promote the integrated development of ports, shipping and trade through the “Silk Road Maritime” platform, and accelerate the building of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the Air Silk Road. China, together with participating countries will build pilot zones for “Silk Road e-commerce” cooperation and high-quality overseas cooperation parks, so as to continuously release infrastructure benefits and ensure that cooperation outcomes benefit all parties.
Facilitating the Upgrading and Iteration of “Soft Connectivity” in Rules and Standards. Over the past decade, China has made positive progress in alignment of working systems, coordination of technical standards, mutual recognition of inspection results and online verification of electronic certificates with Belt and Road countries. The channels and platforms for investment and financing are constantly expanding, and trade and investment are growing steadily. In 2024, the countries participating in the BRI accounted for more than 50% of China’s total imports and exports for the first time. China’s non-financial direct investment in Belt and Road countries reached US $33.69 billion, growing by 5.4% over the previous year. The value of newly signed contracts and the turnover of China's foreign contracted projects accounted for 87% and 83.6% of the total, respectively. Moving forward, China will continue to implement the Belt and Road, Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan, strengthening multilateral cooperation platforms in green development, digital economy, artificial intelligence, energy, taxation, finance, disaster reduction and other fields. China will deepen mechanisms for coordinating rules and standards as well as trade and investment mechanisms, building a smoother and more efficient connectivity cooperation mechanism and expanding a global network of high-standard free trade areas. China will continue to firmly support the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, actively participate in reforms of the global economic governance system, and promote the building of an open world economy, providing new opportunities for the world through China’s new development.
Deepening “People-to-People Connectivity” to Foster Mutual Learning and Understanding. Over the past decade, countries participating in the BRI have embraced and promoted the spirit of friendship and cooperation along the Silk Road, actively engaging in culture and tourism cooperation, educational exchanges, media and think tank collaboration, and people-to-people interactions. These efforts have fostered mutual learning, cultural integration and innovation, creating a diverse and interactive pattern of people-to-people and cultural exchange that has solidified the public support for the BRI. Mutual respect, solidarity, and harmonious coexistence represent the right path for the development of human civilization. China will enhance dialogue with Belt and Road countries, building upon existing Silk Road international leagues of theaters, arts festivals, museums, art galleries and libraries to establish the International Tourism Alliance of Silk Road Cities. China will continue to implement the “Silk Road” Chinese Government Scholarship Program and work with partner countries to promote the Global Civilization Initiative, strengthen cultural exchange and mutual learning, and advocate a vision of civilization featuring equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness. China will further improve people-to-people connectivity, collaboratively create high-quality projects and activities, establish a diverse and multi-dimensional people-to-people exchange mechanism, promote harmonious coexistence and mutual achievement among different civilizations, and enhance the friendship and mutual understanding among people of all countries.
The significant achievements of the past decade demonstrate that the BRI, which aligns with global trends, wins the hearts of the people, improves livelihood, and benefits the world, is a shared path toward modernization for all countries. It is also a hopeful road to a better future for humanity, characterized by strong resilience, exuberant vitality, and vast potential for development. China will advance Chinese path to modernization through further comprehensively deepening of reforms, especially through high-level opening-up. By working with all parties to enhance the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, China will release more dividends of openness to the world, advancing modernization across various countries featuring peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation, and shared prosperity. This will inject new, powerful momentum into building a community with a shared future for mankind.