Delivering the opening speech at the 3rd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Xi gave information on the steps planned to be taken to renew the initiative, which China launched to revitalize East-West trade along the historic Silk Road route, and transform it into high-quality cooperation.
Stating that they plan to transform the initiative, which started with land and sea legs, into a multidimensional connectivity network, Xi said that in this context, they will continue to develop the so-called "China-Europe Railway Express" on land routes, and will also contribute to joint efforts to create Caspian trans-Caspian international transportation corridors and build a new logistics corridor connected by land and railways on the Eurasian continent.
Xi said they will expand the maritime route called the "Maritime Silk Road" by integrating new ports and shipping and trade services, and accelerate efforts to build the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the Air Silk Road.
OPENING UP AND REFORM
Xi pointed out that China supports an open world economy, and to this end, the Silk Road e-commerce cooperation pilot zones will be established and free trade and investment protection agreements will be signed with more countries.
Xi said that they will remove all barriers to foreign investment in the manufacturing industry, continue to open up cross-border trade and investment in services, expand market access to digital products and services, and deepen reform of state-owned enterprises, intellectual property and public procurement.
Stating that a total of 97.2 billion dollars worth of agreements were made this year at the CEO Summit within the scope of the Belt and Road Forum, Xi noted that in the 5 years between 2024 and 2028, China's goods trade is expected to reach 32 trillion dollars and services trade is expected to reach 5 trillion dollars.
"SMALL BUT SMART" COOPERATION
Stating that China will carry out "small but smart" practical cooperation programs to improve people's living and livelihood conditions within the scope of the Belt and Road, Xi said that the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China will open a 350 billion yuan (approximately 47.8 billion dollars) credit window to finance such projects, and 80 billion yuan (approximately 10.9 billion dollars) additional resources will be transferred to the Silk Road Fund in this direction.
Noting that China will carry out 1000 small-scale support programs to improve living conditions, Xi also pointed out that it will increase cooperation in the field of vocational training with international training centers called "Luban Workshops" and other initiatives.
GREEN DEVELOPMENT
Emphasizing that China will promote green development in harmony with the environment, Xi noted that it will deepen cooperation in the fields of "green infrastructure", "green energy" and "green transportation" and increase its support for the BRI International Green Development Coalition.
Xi stated that China will implement the "Green Investment Principles" for the Belt and Road and will provide participating countries with the opportunity to train 100 thousand personnel by 2030.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
Underlining that China will continue to implement the "Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan", Xi stated that they plan to increase the number of joint laboratories with participating countries to 100 in the next 5 years.
Announcing that China will announce the "Global AI Management Initiative" at the forum, Xi said, "We are ready to enhance interaction and dialogue with other countries to jointly promote the orderly and safe development of artificial intelligence in the world."
HUMAN-TO-HUMAN INTERACTION
Xi said that China will organize the Liangcu Forum, named after the last Neolithic culture in the Yangzi River (Gök River) basin, to improve the dialogue between civilizations.
Stating that they envisage the establishment of cooperation mechanisms between the museums, libraries, theaters, art festivals of the Silk Road countries and the creation of an international tourism alliance between Silk Road cities, Xi said that the Chinese government will continue the Silk Road Program, which aims to support academic research.
COOPERATION ON THE BASIS OF HONESTY
Xi announced plans to establish an Integrity and Compliance Evaluation System for companies that will take part in the initiative with cooperation partners to promote honesty-based cooperation for the Belt and Road.
INSTITUTIONALIZATION
Underlining that they will strengthen international institutionalization for Belt and Road cooperation, Xi said they will support the establishment of multilateral cooperation platforms with participating countries in energy, taxation, financing, green development, disaster prevention and relief, anti-corruption, think tanks, media, culture and other fields.
Xi said China will continue to host the Belt and Road Forum and establish a secretariat for the forum.
In the capital Beijing, the "High Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity" in Beijing, representatives of more than 130 countries and more than 30 international organizations attended the 3rd Belt and Road Forum.
In addition to 3 main summits (digital economy, connectivity and green development), 6 sub-summits and the CEO Summit were held.
