From Water Barrier to A Bridge to Progress

Igniting the Potential of Global Development

The Belt and Road Initiative is expected to help people in countries along the routes to realize their dreams for prosperity and development. The Economist magazine commented that almost all the relevant countries want to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.

In March China Today interviewed a few foreign diplomats to China when they sat in at the first session of 13th NPC in Beijing. They all expressed interest in the inclusive development that benefits all and open and pragmatic cooperation that China is seeking. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, minister and deputy chief of mission, Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing, said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is under construction plays an important role in boosting the connectivity between the two countries. It starts in Kashgar of China’s Xinjiang and stretches to Gwadar Port of Pakistan, covering a vast network of highways, railways, oil and gas pipelines, and optical fiber cables. Leela Mani Paudyal, ambassador of Nepal to China, pointed out that inclusive economic growth and an open policy is important to both China and the world.

The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China aims at boosting economic growth with participants’ experience, technology, and funds. If all the countries along the Belt and Road can connect with each other, the development potential of Eurasia, which has 70 percent of the world’s population and 75 percent of the world’s total energy resources, will be ignited.

On March 11, Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan said at a press conference on the sidelines of the first session of the 13th NPC in Beijing that the import and export volume between China and the Belt and Road countries hit US $1.1 trillion in 2017. So far 75 economic and trade cooperation zones have been established in relevant countries, with a total investment of more than US $27 billion.

China will work together with other Belt and Road countries to build the Belt and Road into a road for peace, prosperity, openness, and innovation, as well as a road connecting different civilizations.

The Belt and Road Initiative is inclusive, which aligns with the development strategies of countries and regions along the routes, such as Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union, Mongolia’s passage to grassland initiative, Kazakhstan’s “Bright Road” Initiative, and EU’s Juncker Plan. Today different countries and regions are increasingly interdependent, forming a community of shared interests, thus only joint efforts can boost global economic development.

As the Belt and Road Initiative becomes increasingly popular, it will sure inject new impetus into globalization.