Spotlight: China's Belt and Road Initiative to bring the world closer together

At the just concluded Two Sessions, China promised to further the opening up and reform of its economy while pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative, a move experts believe demonstrates the country's resolve to bring the world closer together through commerce.

China set this year's growth target in the range of 6.5 to 7 percent, following 6.9-percent economic growth in 2015, according to a government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, together called the "two sessions."

This year's target is aligned with China's goal of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and takes into consideration the need to advance structural reform, Li said.

It also marked the first time in two decades that China adopted a range for its growth target rather than a specific number.

This decision was "a bit of a strategic choice" made by the Chinese government, said David Dollar, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution and a former official of the World Bank and the U.S. Treasury Department.

While this range is lower than last year's target of around 7 percent, "it still sends a strong signal to the market that the government is resolved to keep growth momentum at a rate that is above potential," the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a global association representing about 500 financial intuitions, said Thursday in a research note.

"Structural reforms are to focus on addressing overcapacity problems, improving productivity, lowering the tax burden on enterprises and facilitating access to credit, addressing imbalances in the property market and strengthening financial supervision," the IIF said.

Dollar said supply-side structural reforms are essential if China wants to continue growing well, noting that he was particularly impressed by the announcements of hukou (household registration system) reform and opening up more service sectors in China to foreign investment.

According to the 13th Five-Year Plan, China will continue to open more areas in a phased manner, grant greater market access for foreign capital, introduce more overseas capital and advanced technology, and improve the quality of foreign capital utilization, heralding that more opportunities are available for overseas investors in the near future.

Justin Comes, Vice President of the Research and Development Department at Mars Chocolate China, said past experience showed that Mars would continue to "increase optimism in the Chinese market."

"We will continue to make our investments in the Chinese economy. We believe that the ambitious reform agenda coupled with the commitment to grow the economy to the medium to high range gives a more balanced view for us to be able to continue these investments in a very bright future in China," Comes said.

Under the circumstance of a slowdown in global economic growth, China's Belt and Road Initiative has received positive response from many countries and regions and brings with it new opportunities along its route.

According to Premier Li, China will work to ensure solid progress in pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative and work with other countries and regions to build overland economic corridors and maritime hubs, all in a bid to promote connectivity, economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchange.

Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, some 100 China-Europe freight trains have begun running on the route, effectively boosting economic relations between China and Europe.

For Poland, the Belt and Road Initiative has not only offered a convenient channel for Polish enterprises to enter the Chinese market, but also linked Poland with other countries along its path, like Mongolia, said Piotr Gadzinowski, a former member of the Polish Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament.

Of the about 65 countries along the Belt and Road, most of them are in the process of industrialization and urbanization. As the initiative complements their aspirations for growth, dozens of countries remain hopeful about its promise, said Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at a press conference on March 6.

"No matter what rate the country grows at in 2016, its share of the global economy, and of many specific sectors, will be larger than ever," said Gordon Orr, emeritus director for McKinsey & Co. Endi