US-China Relations Updates

While US and the whole western world are busy for the war in Ukraine and middle East， China is holding 3rd Belt and Road summit in Beijing today！

Over the past ten years, the Belt and Road Initiative has achieved fruitful results. The initiative, proposed by China, has gained widespread recognition and support from countries around the world. It has become an important platform for promoting international cooperation and fostering economic development.

During this period, significant progress has been made in various areas. First and foremost, infrastructure construction has been a key focus. Numerous transportation and energy projects have been implemented, enhancing connectivity and facilitating trade between participating countries. These infrastructure developments have contributed to regional economic integration and promoted the flow of goods, capital, and people.

In addition to infrastructure, the Belt and Road Initiative has also promoted trade and investment cooperation. Trade volumes between participating countries have increased, and new trade routes have been established. The initiative has facilitated the exchange of goods and services, stimulating economic growth and creating new business opportunities.

Furthermore, the Belt and Road Initiative has fostered people-to-people exchanges and cultural cooperation. Educational and cultural exchanges, as well as tourism and personnel exchanges, have flourished, promoting mutual understanding and friendship among participating nations.

The initiative has also prioritized sustainable development and green practices. Efforts have been made to promote clean energy, environmental protection, and ecological conservation in project implementation. This demonstrates a commitment to achieving sustainable development goals and addressing global challenges.

Overall, the Belt and Road Initiative has yielded significant outcomes over the past decade. It has enhanced regional and global cooperation, stimulated economic growth, and improved the livelihoods of people in participating countries. Looking ahead, continued collaboration and mutual benefit will further contribute to the success and sustainability of the initiative.

As an important measure to promote China’s expanded opening-up and the practical platform for building a community with a shared future for mankind, the concept advocated by the Belt and Road Initiative has deeply resonated with people, achieved remarkable accomplishments, and had far-reaching and extensive impacts. Over the past 10 years, the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative has followed the trend of the times, providing a Chinese solution to address the development challenges of the world and contributing Chinese wisdom to enhance the well-being of people worldwide, demonstrating the responsibility and role of a major country.

In the past decade, the Belt and Road Initiative has evolved from a “broad brushstroke” to a “meticulous painting,” becoming the most popular international public good and the largest-scale international cooperation platform. As of July this year, over three-quarters of countries globally and more than 30 international organizations have signed cooperation documents with China for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative. So far, over 3,000 cooperation projects have been formed, driving nearly a trillion dollars of investment.

Remarkable achievements and highlights abound. The interconnected framework of “Six Corridors and Six Roads, Multiple Countries, and Multiple Ports” has been basically established, with solid progress in cooperation projects in transportation, electricity, oil and gas, coal, new energy, and other fields. Financial service institutions and products such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the BRICS New Development Bank, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Development Bank, and the Silk Road Fund provide investment support for China’s economic and trade cooperation, as well as bilateral and multilateral connectivity with relevant countries and regions.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin introduced that the Belt and Road Initiative has formed over 3,000 cooperation projects, driving nearly a trillion dollars of investment, creating “national landmarks,” “livelihood projects,” and “monuments of cooperation.”

“Taking ‘hard connectivity’ of infrastructure as an important direction, ‘soft connectivity’ of rules and standards as a crucial support, and ‘heart-to-heart connectivity’ with people of co-building countries as an important foundation, the comprehensive ‘connectivity’ of ‘hard,’ ‘soft,’ and ‘heart’ summarizes the basic content, breakthroughs, and achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative over the past 10 years,” said Liu Qian, Vice Dean of the Belt and Road Institute at Beijing Normal University, in an interview with China Report.

In her opinion, infrastructure connectivity is a priority area for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, and “hard connectivity” is the foundation. Over the past 10 years, the construction of infrastructure projects has yielded fruitful results, contributing to improved local livelihoods and expanded employment opportunities. Moreover, the seamless transportation connections have played an important role in ensuring the stability of global industrial and supply chains, making it an important international public good. Strengthening “soft connectivity” through enhanced rules and standards is crucial for the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. In recent years, rules and standards in the fields of economic and trade cooperation, investment and financing, and transportation have started to align with international practices, paving the way for the establishment of its own standards. People-to-people connectivity forms the human foundation of the Belt and Road Initiative. “Heart-to-heart connectivity” not only encompasses efforts in cultural exchanges and people’s projects that directly benefit the local population with minimal investment but also indirectly improves local livelihoods through infrastructure investment and construction.

“In the eyes of Liang Haoguang, the Belt and Road Initiative is an exploration and practice of a new type of globalization based on historical consciousness, aiming to achieve a rebalancing of globalization and promote the well-being of people in all countries,” Liang Haoguang told China Report. “The Belt and Road Initiative has created a new model of win-win cooperation and has become a popular international public good and platform for international cooperation.”

In his view, over the past 10 years, the Belt and Road Initiative has effectively addressed global governance deficits, development deficits, peace deficits, and trust deficits. The logic of global governance in the Belt and Road Initiative is undergoing a positive transformation, with global recognition and trust reaching new heights. This has promoted reform in the global governance system and helped manage global uncertainties and risks. The high-quality Belt and Road Initiative proposes a Chinese solution by leveraging technological innovation and institutional creativity to address the world’s development challenges, striving to establish a new balance of power within the imbalanced international governance system.

Looking at the “Five Connectivity” aspects, in terms of policy coordination and cooperation, China has strengthened mechanisms for collaboration and strategic alignment with Belt and Road countries, playing a leading and catalytic role in policy communication. Efforts have been made to promote institutional openness through the formulation of rules and standards, exploring new paths to promote common development. Infrastructure connectivity has become more accessible and smooth, with the successful construction of landmark projects such as the China-Europe Railway Express, the Western Land-Sea New Corridor, and the China-Laos Railway. The China-Europe Railway Express now operates on 84 routes, reaching more than 200 cities in 25 European countries. The Western Land-Sea New Corridor’s rail-sea intermodal trains have covered 18 provinces (regions, municipalities) in central and western China. Investment and trade levels continue to rise, with the average annual growth rates of goods trade and non-financial direct investment between China and Belt and Road countries reaching 8.6% and 5.8% respectively from 2013 to 2022. Cumulative bilateral investments with Belt and Road countries have exceeded 270 billion US dollars. In terms of financial connectivity, China has engaged in various forms of financial cooperation with Belt and Road countries and multilateral development financial institutions, involving infrastructure sectors such as energy, transportation, communication, agriculture, public health, and water resources. By continuously exploring and innovating investment and financing models and establishing a sound financial support system, stable, transparent, and high-quality financial services are provided for the Belt and Road Initiative. People-to-people connectivity has achieved significant results, with Chinese companies in overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in Belt and Road countries creating 421,000 jobs locally. It is estimated that by 2030, the Belt and Road Initiative can lift 7.6 million people in relevant countries out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty, resulting in a global income increase ranging from 0.7% to 2.9%.

“Green has always been a distinct undertone. In China, several generations of hard work have successfully achieved the reversal of desertification in areas such as Kubuqi and Saihanba. These successful examples have made the partners of the Belt and Road Initiative highly value China’s anti-desertification technologies and experiences.

Along the route of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in Kenya, giraffes freely roam under the railway bridges without lowering their heads. On the trains of the China-Laos Railway, passengers enjoy the evergreen scenery and blooming flowers along the line. After undergoing green upgrades, the century-old Smederevo Steel Mill in Serbia has been rejuvenated.

“Green has always been a distinct undertone in the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Wang Yiheng, a professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China. “Over the past 10 years, countries have learned from each other, cooperated hand in hand, and achieved fruitful results in building the Green Silk Road, bringing new opportunities for jointly building countries and injecting green momentum into global governance.”

Liu Qian stated, “The Belt and Road Initiative has promoted China’s concept of green development internationally, forming a broad consensus. In terms of top-level design, the establishment of the Belt and Road Initiative Green Development International Alliance, the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative Green Development Partnership Initiative, and the signing of multiple cooperation frameworks related to green development have been achieved. In terms of practical advancement, from 2014 to 2020, China’s investment in renewable energy in Belt and Road projects increased by nearly 40%, surpassing investment in fossil fuels. China actively responded to international calls, implemented a batch of green infrastructure projects, and actively participated in global climate change governance.”

“Green will continue to be an important theme in Belt and Road cooperation,” Liu Qian said.

It is understood that over the past 10 years, China has actively promoted the establishment of a green and low-carbon development cooperation mechanism for jointly building the Belt and Road. China has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Building a Green Belt and Road with the United Nations Environment Programme, signed over 50 cooperation documents on ecological and environmental protection with relevant countries and international organizations, jointly initiated the Belt and Road Initiative Green Development Partnership Initiative with 31 jointly building countries, and jointly established the Belt and Road Energy Cooperation Partnership with 32 jointly building countries.

China has initiated the establishment of the Belt and Road Initiative Green Development International Alliance, established the Belt and Road Initiative Green Development International Research Institute, and built the Belt and Road Ecological and Environmental Big Data Service Platform to help jointly building countries improve their environmental governance capabilities and enhance people’s well-being. China actively assists jointly building countries in strengthening the training of green talents, implementing the Green Silk Road Envoys Program, and has already trained over 3,000 people from more than 120 jointly building countries. China has formulated and implemented the “Belt and Road” Green Investment Principles to promote green investment in the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese companies have invested in a number of renewable energy projects in jointly building countries, and have helped these countries construct key clean energy projects, providing strong support for their green development.

“In implementing the concept of green development, China has made many efforts,” summarized Liang Haoguang. “For example, in the construction of the jointly building Belt and Road projects, China actively fulfills its environmental responsibilities, carries out ecological environmental governance, and emphasizes biodiversity protection.”

Promoting the Construction of an Open World Economy

△ Qinzhou Free Trade Port in Guangxi.
Practice has proven that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) corresponds to the aspirations and expectations of the majority of countries and people around the world to share development opportunities and create a better home. It also aligns with the laws of social and economic development. China’s modernization and high-quality approach to jointly building the BRI will inspire more countries to follow paths that suit their national conditions and draw strength from the development of their partner countries. Over the past 10 years, the BRI has made positive contributions to the construction of an open world economy.

According to Liu Qian, the contributions of the BRI to the construction of an open world economy are mainly reflected in three aspects. First, the BRI promotes the construction of an open world economy through institutional arrangements. In the pursuit of high-quality development, the BRI has lowered tariff levels, eliminated various non-tariff barriers, facilitated trade, and enhanced trade connectivity. It has strengthened macroeconomic policy coordination with major economies in the world, promoted global governance through policy communication, and facilitated sustainable global economic growth. The BRI has also enhanced international cooperation in intellectual property protection, raised the level of intellectual property creation and application in countries along the BRI route, stimulated entrepreneurial and innovative vitality, and promoted regional innovation and development.

Second, it optimizes the business environment. China’s own efforts to improve and optimize the business environment contribute to the construction of an open world economy. Openness is an important means of promoting reform, and institutional innovation arises from openness. Since the launch of the BRI, the implementation of policies and institutions has stimulated market vitality and created a relatively fair and competitive market environment. According to the latest Global Doing Business Report released by the World Bank, China’s business environment has rapidly improved from 96th place in 2013 to 31st place in 2022, providing a guarantee for the high-quality development of the BRI as a public good.

Third, it promotes the construction of an open world economy through deepening capital market reforms. Financial connectivity is crucial for the construction of the BRI, and deepening capital market reforms is particularly important. Currently, China’s capital market has made positive progress in two-way opening and interconnectivity. In the future, it is necessary to accelerate the further interconnectivity with the global capital markets of countries and regions jointly building the BRI.

Please note that the translation provided is a general interpretation and may not capture all the nuances of the original text.

Victoria Kwakwa, Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific at the World Bank, stated, “Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China has introduced a new form of multilateral cooperation to the world. This initiative aims to deepen economic integration by improving trade, infrastructure, investment, and people-to-people connections, not only across borders but also across continents.”

After 10 years of efforts, the joint construction of the Belt and Road has promoted the establishment of an effective platform for connectivity and injected new energy into global economic growth. According to a research report by the World Bank, if all transportation infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road framework are implemented, they are expected to generate $1.6 trillion in annual benefits by 2030, accounting for 1.3% of the global GDP.

Liang Haoguang stated that the Belt and Road Initiative, as an important opportunity for high-level institutional opening-up, aims to promote the orderly and free flow of economic factors, efficient allocation of resources, and deep market integration. The connectivity built by the Belt and Road in the field of economy and trade not only provides stable support for the benign reconstruction of global industrial chains, supply chains, and value chains but also promotes the transformation and upgrading of regional economic cooperation. More importantly, it effectively promotes the coordination of political and economic policies among participating countries.

As Chen Wenling, Chief Economist of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, stated in the article “Important Experiences and Revelations of the Belt and Road Initiative,” the joint construction of the Belt and Road has benefited participating countries, regions, and people, making significant contributions to the construction of an open world economy. For example, many member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have joined the Belt and Road cooperation, becoming important nodes along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The Belt and Road Initiative has deepened economic and trade cooperation among RCEP member countries. Through mutual openness, China and ASEAN have further deepened multilateral trade and investment mechanisms, continuously released the dividends of economic and trade cooperation to neighboring countries and regions, and promoted the process of regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.