(May 15, 2017)

Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends from the Media,

Good afternoon!

Since the start of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, you have been working very hard to cover and report on the event. You have recorded many precious moments, made the voice of the Belt and Road cooperation heard louder and wider, and let the world see the robust progress of the Belt and Road Initiative. On behalf of the Chinese government and all the participants,  let me say a big thank you to you all.

Yesterday, we had the Opening Session and High-level Dialogue. Heads of state and government and leaders of international organizations were joined by representatives of government, business and academia from over 100 countries. In a friendly and amiable atmosphere, we focused our discussion on the Belt and Road development for international cooperation, and many good ideas and suggestions were proposed. The discussions led to positive outcomes. During the past two days, China signed multiple new cooperation agreements with relevant parties. So far, 68 countries and international organizations have signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with China.

The Leaders Roundtable today brought together leaders of 30 countries, and heads of the United Nations, the World Bank Group and the International MonetaryFund. Under the theme of “Belt and Road: Cooperation for Common Prosperity,” we had an in-depth exchange ofviews on policy synergy for closer partnership, connectivity cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. Wehave reached broad consensus and adopted a Joint Communiqué.

The current Forum is a high-level gathering of the international community with focus on the Belt and Road development. It has taken stock of the cooperation progress, built consensus, and charted the course for the Belt and Road cooperation with a roadmap and action plan. This Forum has sent a positive message to the rest of the world that we will jointly build a platform for cooperation that will drive world economic growth and boost confidence in economic globalization.

First, we all want to pursue both the development  of our own countries and the common development  of  the world, and we have set the goals and direction of  theBeltandroadcooperation.We are of the view that the development of the Belt and Road has come to a new stage of making progress on all fronts, as can be seen  in greater policy coordination, faster implementation ofmajor economic and trade projects, emerging infrastructure networks, enhanced trade and investment facilitation, steady progress in industrial and financial cooperation and closer people-to-people ties. As our next step, we will build on what has been achieved, seek further progress of the Belt and Road efforts at a broader, deeper and higher level, and work together to address major challenges facing the world economy. It is our hope that through the Belt and Road development, we will enhance international cooperation, unleash new driving forces for economic growth, build new platforms for global development and re-balance economic globalization, so that mankind will move closer to a community of shared future.

Second,  we will champion the Silk road spirit and stay committed to win-win cooperation. We agree that the Belt and Road Initiative is an open and inclusive platform for development, where all interested countries can participate, contribute and benefit as equals. Under the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, we will continue to move forward policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity. What we want is closer win-win cooperation through greater openness. We will not base cooperation on ideological ground, nor will we pursue any political agenda or make any exclusive arrangements.

Third,we will continue to step up policy coordination and synergize our development strategies, so as to pool our strength for coordinated development. We will coordinate our trade, investment, financial and other macro economic policies, advance economic structural reforms, and foster an enabling international environment for development. We will synergize our development strategies and programs, work together to develop action plans, and provide policy support for major projects. We will work together to ensure an open world economy, advance FTA development, and promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. We reiterate the importance of innovation-driven development, support such innovation endeavors as cross-border e-commerce, big data and smart city, and will jointly cultivate new industries, new business forms and models. We also support greater complementarity between the Belt and Road Initiative and the development programs of other countries and those of international and regional organizations so that they will complement one another for coordinated development.

Fourth,we have developed a roadmap for cooperation and identified priority areas and course of action. It is our hope that the Belt and Road cooperation will help boost economic growth of all participating countries,improve their infrastructure,invigorate their industrial development,deepen financial cooperation and intensify people-to-people exchanges.

We agree that connectivity will remain a priority of our cooperation, and we will endeavor to connect overlandpassages with sea ports and establish infrastructure networks of unimpeded land and sea routes. We will also step up “soft connectivity” such as information sharing, mutual recognition of regulation and mutual assistancein law enforcement, enhance cooperation in areas such as customs and quality inspection, and harmonize nationalrules andstandards.

We support an accelerated development of economic corridors, encourage more international cooperation onproduction capacity and equipment manufacturing, and call for the establishment of joint business and industrial parks and cross-border economic cooperation zones. We  also support green and low carbon development and  a flourishing IT industry. We agree to expand financingchannels, explore new ways of financing, lower financing costs, and put in place a stable and sustainable financial safeguard system to keep risk manageable.

We support greater cooperation in areas such as education, science and technology, culture and healthcare, and encourage more exchanges in tourism and between think tanks as well as media organizations. We will take further steps to facilitate people-to-people exchanges. We will also work to meet people’s expectation by expanding cooperation in such areas as sustainable development, fight against corruption, poverty reduction and disaster mitigation. 

Fifth, we have advanced practical cooperation through the platform of the Forum and achieved a series of positive outcomes. Before and during the Forum, China has concluded a number of documents and agreements on cooperation in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative with many participating countries and international organizations. Such cooperation ranges from planning for greater synergy of macro policies and development strategies to taking actions on the ground to facilitate trade, investment and infrastructure connectivity, industrial and financial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

China, for its part, has announced a number of new decisions aimed at promoting policy synergy,acceleratingthe building of economic corridors, strengthening cooperation on major projects and increasing financial support. These include contributing an additional RMB100 billion to the Silk Road Fund and encouraging financial institutions to conduct overseas RMB fund business with an estimated amount of about RMB300 billion. The China Development Bank and the Export and Import Bank of China will offer RMB250 billion equivalent and RMB130 billion equivalent of special credit lines respectively for cooperation projects under the Belt and Road framework. The China International Import Expo will be held from 2018. All these steps have been welcomed by the participating parties. We have put together  a list detailing more than 270 major deliverables of the Forum. These deliverables will effectively underpin the Belt and Road efforts, as they have boosted the confidence of all parties in enhanced cooperation.

The discussions we have had at the Forum reaffirm our belief that it serves our common interests to strengthen the Belt and Road cooperation and jointly address the challenges facing the world economy. This is also in line with the long- term development goals of all countries. We have every reason to be confident in the future of the Belt and Road. That said, there is still a long way to go, as the Belt andRoad is a long-term undertaking. It is important for all parties to work more closely together if we are to make the blueprint  a reality and keep delivering tangible results. It is hoped that the Forum should continue to serve as a platform for fostering policy synergy and exploring further cooperation. In view of this, China will host the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, “One single light feather does not make a bird fly high, and one single hoof does not make a horse run fast.” Similarly, the Belt and Road, a joint undertaking of all parties, will not be possible without active involvement of the media and all other sectors of society. I believe that with the joint efforts of all, the Belt and Road will surely be turned into a road of peace, prosperity, opening-up, innovation, and one that connects different civilizations.

Thank you.