The Belt and Road Initiative has moved from a Chinese initiative to international practice, from concept to action, and has entered a new stage of high-quality development. The Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2024 clarified the key tasks to be done well in 2025, including "expanding high-level opening up, stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment", one of which is to "promote high-quality joint construction of the" Belt and Road "to go deep and solid, and improve the overseas comprehensive service system". Earlier, the General Secretary of the AA stressed at the fourth "Belt and Road" construction work symposium that "promoting the high-quality development of the" Belt and Road "coexist with challenges, but on the whole, the opportunities outweigh the challenges." In the face of the current grim and complex international environment, we need to review our achievements and experience, analyze and study the new situation, and unswervingly advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with innovative thinking and solid actions.

It has global influence and strategic significance

As the first global, large-scale and all-round international economic cooperation initiative put forward by China after reform and opening up, the Belt and Road cooperation has achieved remarkable results through practical progress over the years. We have always maintained strategic focus and promoted high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to go deep and solid, demonstrating strategic vision and great significance.

High-quality Belt and Road cooperation is the main way to expand high-level opening up and create a sound external environment for promoting Chinese-style modernization. Reform and opening up are crucial to the success of Chinese-style modernization. To further promote Chinese-style modernization, it is necessary to attract global resource factors through the domestic cycle, and enhance the linkage effect of the two resources in both domestic and international markets. In recent years, China has continued to relax foreign investment access, and the 2024 version of the national negative list of foreign investment access restrictions has been reduced to 29, and the restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector have been "zero." By the end of 2023, Chinese domestic investors had set up 48,000 overseas enterprises in 189 countries and regions, including 17,000 overseas enterprises in countries jointly building the Belt and Road. In theory, the increase in the reinvestment proportion of overseas enterprises' earnings can reflect the value-added ability of investment from one side, and reflect the willingness and confidence of enterprises in long-term investment in the "Belt and Road". In 2023, the operation of China's overseas enterprises is good, nearly 70% of the enterprises are profitable or flat, and the income of the year is 78.46 billion US dollars, accounting for 44.2% of China's outbound direct investment flow in the same period.

High-quality Belt and Road cooperation is a strategic underpinning of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and an important platform for building a community with a shared future for mankind. Building a community with a shared future for mankind is a lofty goal pursued by major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era. In the process of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, the economic system and the diplomatic system are coupled to better promote an equal and orderly multi-polar world and economic globalization that benefits all, and build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. In the future, China will continue to carry forward the Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, and contribute more Chinese wisdom to the great practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind by actively building a multi-dimensional connectivity network along the Belt and Road, carrying out practical cooperation projects and supporting people-to-people exchanges.

We face both opportunities and challenges

From "brushwork" to "fine brushwork", the Belt and Road Initiative has become a popular global public good and a new platform for international cooperation in today's world. It has injected new impetus and opened up new space for world economic prosperity and development, and its international appeal, influence and cohesiveness have been increasing. In November 2023, the Vision and Action of Unswervingly Advancing the High-quality Development of the Belt and Road -- The Development Outlook of the Belt and Road in the Next Decade was released, putting forward a series of vision ideas and practical action measures, showing a brighter future for the Belt and Road.

An international cooperation initiative has persisted steadily for more than 10 years, showing strong strategic vision, strategic courage and strategic focus, and its impact has shown positive changes from quantitative to qualitative.

In terms of project types, the construction of important projects such as infrastructure and production capacity cooperation has been basically completed, and new projects continue to be listed. For example, as a key project of high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" between China and Peru, the first phase of the Qiankai Port Project was officially put into use in November 2024, which is the first smart port in South America and has a strong demonstration effect on attracting South American countries to participate in the construction of the "Belt and Road". In terms of the main body of enterprises, state-owned enterprises such as central enterprises are the main force of the "Belt and Road", while private enterprises are the new force. The two complement and support each other, and promote cooperation and project construction in various fields.

At present, with the deepening of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, the process of digital, green and intelligent world economy is accelerating, and information technology is changing rapidly, leading new changes in social production. Digital economy has become an important part of the global economy, and green development has become the consensus of all countries in the world. The Belt and Road cooperation conforms to the universal law of global economic, technological, industrial and social development and the trend of The Times. There is great room for strengthening cooperation and fostering new growth areas in digital, green and other new fields. At present, cooperation on the Digital Silk Road has yielded increasingly remarkable results. At the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, many other countries expressed their desire to deepen cooperation with China on the green Silk Road.

However, we must also note that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, with unilateralism and protectionism on the rise, frequent local conflicts and turbulence, and deepening adverse impacts brought about by changes in the external environment. In this context, to promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road, we must properly respond to various risks and challenges, effectively overcome the impact of geopolitical conflicts, improve the level of systemic risk prevention and control capacity, promote greater communication among co-developing countries, strengthen the sense of security community, and correctly handle the relationship of strengthening the sense of gain of co-building countries and upholding our own benefits. In particular, we will focus on the areas of infrastructure construction, health, green ecology, education and training that are easy to enhance the sense of gain and happiness of the people, and give play to the role of lubricants and adhesives of the "small and beautiful" welfare projects to deepen friendship and mutual trust and the integration of interests with the co-construction of the country. At the same time, attention should be paid to improving the overseas comprehensive service system, exploring the establishment of an all-weather early warning and assessment comprehensive service platform for overseas project risks, timely warning and regular assessment. Chinese enterprises overseas should strengthen practical cooperation, abide by both Chinese laws and local laws and international rules of the host countries, improve their ability to prevent overseas integrity risks, and strengthen project supervision and management as well as risk prevention and control.

We will strengthen institutional building and make overall planning

Institutional building can play an important role in effectively responding to external risks and challenges and actively shaping a favorable external environment. We will make steady and sustained progress in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. We need to improve the overall management mechanism for the Belt and Road cooperation plan, the coordinated promotion mechanism for hard connectivity, soft connectivity and heart connectivity, the practical cooperation mechanism for industrial chain and supply chain, the international exchange and cooperation mechanism for emerging fields, the diversified investment and financing mechanism, the internal and external coordination mechanism for risk prevention and control, and the cooperation mechanism for clean Silk Road. All cooperation should be carried out in the sunshine. Remove obstacles to foreign economic cooperation.

The joint construction of the Belt and Road is a systematic project that has entered a new stage of high-quality development, and its systematism has become more prominent. To continuously expand new space for win-win development of a higher level, more resilient and more sustainable, we must pay attention to the overall planning of relevant aspects.

We will deepen "hard connectivity" in infrastructure, "soft connectivity" in rules and standards, and "heart connectivity" with the people of co-building countries. Over the years, landmark projects have landed or made significant progress in the field of "hard connectivity" every year. The Belt and Road Initiative, with its basic structure of "six corridors, six roads, multiple countries and multiple ports", has accelerated the construction of a multi-tiered and complex infrastructure network, which has played an important role in promoting economic, trade and production capacity cooperation, and strengthening cultural and personnel exchanges. In October 2023, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed Railway, the flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative jointly built by China and Indonesia, was officially put into operation. In December 2024, the launching ceremony of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was held. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is a landmark project of the three countries' cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, which will greatly change the constraints on the geographical development conditions of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. "Soft Connectivity" can introduce rules and standards that are universally supported by all parties, advocate the docking of international rules and standards, and encourage developing countries to adopt their own rules and standards. "Heart connectivity" helps build a closer network of global partnerships. For example, in June 2024, the China-Laism-Thai-Malaysia cross-border railway train on the new land-Sea Corridor in the West will set off in Chongqing, which will promote economic and trade cooperation and industrial linkage between the regions along the corridor and ASEAN countries. 2024 has been designated as the "China-Asean Year of People-To-People and Cultural Exchanges" to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries through a variety of activities in education, culture, tourism, sports and other fields. Taking "hard connectivity" as an important direction, "soft connectivity" as an important support, and "heart connectivity" as an important foundation will further promote deeper and more solid connectivity, and realize interconnected development and shared results.

We will coordinate the development of major landmark projects and "small but beautiful" projects to improve people's livelihood. The Belt and Road Initiative aims to achieve high standards, achieve sustainability and improve people's lives. It focuses on eradicating poverty, creating more jobs and improving people's lives, so that all people will benefit from the fruits of cooperation. If major landmark projects are like arteries, then "small and beautiful" people's livelihood projects are like capillaries, and the coordinated promotion of the two can better enhance the sense of gain and happiness of the people in the joint construction of the country, and increase the broad recognition of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The people's livelihood is linked to the people's hearts. Most of the Belt and Road countries are developing countries, and they generally lack skilled personnel to promote industrialization and modernization. At present, China has built more than 30 Luban workshops in cooperation on three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, training nearly 10,000 students in academic education and providing vocational training to more than 31,000 people. The construction of Luban Workshop adheres to the demand orientation, and has opened more than 70 majors such as industrial robots, new energy, and the Internet of Things in co-built countries to help more young people achieve employment. Practice has proved that high-quality Belt and Road cooperation requires not only "channels", but also "hearts and minds". The people's livelihood projects with temperature are the most popular, the most effective and the most able to achieve resonance.

We will consolidate cooperation in traditional areas and steadily expand cooperation in emerging areas. To make high-quality Belt and Road cooperation deeper and more concrete, we need to optimize the stock and create additional growth. If we compare traditional cooperation to stock, then cooperation in emerging areas can be said to be incremental. The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese-Style Modernization adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposes to continue to implement the Belt and Road scientific and technological Innovation action Plan and strengthen the construction of multilateral cooperation platforms in green development, digital economy, artificial intelligence, energy, taxation, finance, disaster reduction and other fields. In the era of the digital economy, promoting high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road to deepen and achieve concrete results cannot be achieved without digital empowerment. In 2024, the first meeting of the China-Singapore Digital Policy Dialogue mechanism will exchange views on cross-border cooperation in the field of data. The two sides will facilitate the cross-border flow of enterprise data through mechanism building, cultivate and expand new forms and models of digital economy, and promote the high-quality development of digital trade. At present, artificial intelligence is developing rapidly all over the world. In October 2023, the President of the AA pointed out in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that "we are willing to strengthen exchanges and dialogue with all countries to jointly promote the healthy, orderly and safe development of global artificial intelligence". In addition, green and health are also emerging areas with great development potential in jointly building the Belt and Road. As far as the Silk Road of health is concerned, traditional Chinese medicine is a great creation of the Chinese nation, a typical representative and an important part of traditional medicine in the world, and has shown rich and diversified value in jointly building the Belt and Road. In order to promote the orderly development of international cooperation in the field of traditional Chinese medicine under the Belt and Road Initiative, relevant departments issued the "Promoting High-quality Integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine into the Development Plan of the Belt and Road Initiative (2021-2025)".

Openness is the hallmark of China's modernization. We will continue to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, promote balanced development of imports and exports, trade in goods and services, bilateral trade and two-way investment, trade and industries, and promote orderly and free flow of factors of production, efficient allocation of resources and deep integration of markets at home and abroad. This will create more opportunities and greater space for development. It will provide more impetus for promoting Chinese-style modernization and common global development.

Source: SASAC of The State Council