BRI an initiative for the good of all
Addressing the Boao Forum for Asia through video link on April 20, President Xi Jinping said the Belt and Road Initiative is a public road open to all, not a private path owned by one single party.
By 2030, Belt and Road projects could help lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty across the world, Xi said, citing a World Bank report.
“We will act in the spirit of openness and inclusiveness as we work with all willing participants to build the BRI into a pathway to poverty alleviation and growth, which will contribute positively to the common prosperity of humankind,” he said.
Themed “A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation”, the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia 2021 was aimed at deepening cooperation among Asian countries and improving global governance in the postpandemic period. The theme of the conference, held in Hainan province from April 18 to 21, is indicative of how Asia, and the rest of the world, can recover from the pandemicinduced economic recession through cooperation.
China proposed the BRI to cope with the anti-globalization trend in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, and improve connectivity among related countries and regions through infrastructure construction, and free and open trade.
The initiative has played an important role in boosting the regional and global economies. For instance, China-Europe freight trains transported anti-pandemic medicines and equipment, as well as other products in 2020 even when many countries were under lockdown. Trade between China and the European Union increased amid the global recession, with China replacing the United States to become the EU’s largest trade partner.
Besides, China’s non-financial direct investment in Belt and Road countries in 2020 reached $17.79 billion, up 18.3 percent year-on-year, which proves the initiative has been facilitating economic and trade development.
However, in the post-epidemic period, the Belt and Road cooperation mechanism needs to be further improved in order to promote more balanced economic development. To begin with, since the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand have already inked the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, they should accelerate the process of ratifying the pact to build a high-quality free trade network in the Asia-Pacific region with the aim of helping boost global growth.
The digital economy is another sector that has drawn increasing attention since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The combination of artificial intelligence, 5G technology, big data and cloud computing can give rise to new consumption and economic growth patterns.
And the “Digital Silk Road”, an important part of the Belt and Road, can help countries build digital infrastructure and facilitate their digital transformation.
Moreover, as achieving sustainable development remains a challenge, the major goal of global governance should be to promote “green recovery” and realize the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. And since Asia is a densely populated region, Asian approaches should be explored to realize global sustainable development centered on green and circular economy, and focused more on regional development, including poverty reduction, rural sustainable development, using and protecting seas and marine resources, and plastic recycling.
As unilateralism and trade protectionism — along with the pandemic — have pushed the global economy into recession and destabilized the global financial system, it is important for Asia and the rest of the world to help build a consensus among major countries to promote multilateralism in global governance by defending the global trade order with the World Trade Organization at its core.
There is also a need to improve the international monetary and financing systems. In this regard, by improving connectivity and helping increase investment in the Asian and global financial markets, the BRI will facilitate the development of the financial sector.