China has published a document entitled “Vision and Actions for High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Brighter Prospects for the Next Decade,” which specified the key areas and directions for Belt and Road cooperation in the next 10 years. The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has injected new growth momentum into the world economy and created vast room for global development. The initiative is believed to bring benefits to its partner countries through the newly released vision and action plan, with a new focuses on green and digital development, as well as the stability and sustainability of supply chains. The BRI was launched 10 years ago and is now entering its second decade. In addition to what the BRI has been devoted to in the past decade – policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people ties – the new document added cooperation in new fields: green development, new forms and models of digital cooperation, technology innovation, and international cooperation in health, according to the document. The new action plan will also focus on promoting the integration of trade and the latest technologies, including the internet, Internet of Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.
There is vast opportunity for digital cooperation between China and BRI partner countries, as China has extensive experience in digital infrastructure construction and digital development. At the same time, China has a huge number of digitalized industries, Wang Peng, Associate Researcher with the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. Chinese officials also said that making industrial and supply chains more resilient and expanding the scope of free trade agreements will be a focus of BRI cooperation in the future. In the past 10 years, the total import and export volume of China and BRI partner countries has reached USD19.1 trillion, and two-way investment has exceeded USD380 billion, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner. A large number of BRI cooperation projects in agriculture, energy, the digital economy and other fields has been carried out, strongly promoting the upgrading of the industrial structure and the optimization of industrial chains in various countries, said the NDRC. For example, a total of 79,900 China-Europe Railway Express trains have reached more than 200 cities in 25 European countries, becoming a “golden channel” for stabilizing the global supply chain.
The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in October produced 458 deliverables, and Chinese financial institutions established a financing window of CNY780 billion for BRI projects. All this will contribute to high-quality BRI cooperation, and provide strong momentum for connectivity, development and prosperity around the world, an official said at the press conference presenting the new blueprint. “It is precisely because of the financing provided by BRI that our large-scale projects can be implemented in BRI partner countries, enabling more countries to achieve energy transformations,” Zhu Daocheng, Vice President of JA SOLAR, a Chinese photovoltaic power firm that has an extensive presence in BRI countries, told the Global Times. China has signed more than 200 documents with 152 countries and 32 international organizations on cooperation under the BRI, covering 83% of the countries with which China has established diplomatic relations.
Echoing President Xi’s call to prioritize “small but beautiful”, the action plan said the focus would be on projects involving “small investment, quick results and good economic and social benefits”. “A number of landmark projects will be created that are highly praised by the countries where they are being built,” the plan read. Originally devised to link China with Europe and the rest of Asia, the program has gained steam in Africa, South America and the Pacific, as Chinese companies build roads, railways, ports and energy projects. This has significantly expanded China’s economic and political influence, especially in poorer countries desperate for better infrastructure to improve their economies. However, the program has also come under increasing scrutiny, especially as many of the projects faced runaway costs and Western nations accused China of debt-trap diplomacy. According to the new vision document, infrastructure building to boost land and maritime connections, such as border facilities and seaports, will remain high on the agenda. “China will work with all parties to build high-quality, sustainable, risk-resistant, affordable, inclusive and accessible infrastructure so as to improve the overall connectivity of countries involved,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Belt and Road Global Chambers of Commerce and Associations Conference (GCCAC) was held in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, gathering global entrepreneurs and leaders of business associations to share opinions about industry trends and experiences on issues such as economic and trade exchanges and sustainable development. Chinese officials, Ambassadors and officials from BRI partner countries participated in the conference, as well as 1,000 guests from more than 200 business associations from over 30 countries and regions, including the U.S., Singapore and Italy. This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, the Global Times and the South China Morning Post.
