(April 27, 2019)

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

Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,

Your Excellencies Heads of International Organizations,

As we have concluded our discussions at all sessions and adopted the Joint Communiqué of the Leaders' Roundtable, the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is coming to a close.

Compared with the First Belt and Road Forum, this forum has more participants, discussed a broader agenda, and delivered greater output. In the space of just one day, we have expressed our views in a sound atmosphere, reviewed progress in our cooperation, and exchanged views and practices from various countries. We have raised in-depth and extensive views and put forward insightful initiatives. Through this forum, we have built further consensus, broadened our vision, and identified the direction and focus of our cooperation. On behalf of the hosting country, I hereby summarize our consensus as follows:

First, we agree that the Belt and Road Initiative leads to common prosperity. We all believe that over the past five years, starting from the Belt and Road Initiative in 2014, and particularly since the First Belt and Road Forum in 2017, significant progress has been achieved in policy synergy, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and closer people-to-people ties. The mechanism has created a new platform for international cooperation and opened a new space for economic growth in all participating countries and the rest of the world.

Second, we are resolved to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. We have reiterated the consensus reached at the First Belt and Road Forum, summarized our successful experience, and decided to proceed on this basis. We will follow the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, promote open, green and clean cooperation, and pursue high-standard, people-centered and sustainable development. The purpose is to ensure stronger economic growth, closer international cooperation, and a better life for our peoples. Our projects will follow a model in which the government provides guidance, enterprises act as the main players, and market principles apply. Our cooperation will abide by the laws and regulations of all participating countries, and follow widely accepted international rules and standards. We support all forms of bilateral, third-party market and multilateral cooperation, and welcome international economic and financial institutions to join us and share the responsibilities and benefits together.

Third, we aspire to explore new impetus for global economic growth. We will strengthen macro-economic policy coordination, support trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and work together to build an open world economy. We will further synergize development policies and plans and enhance dialogue and cooperation for higher efficiency. We will strive to undertake affordable, inclusive and accessible infrastructure projects that benefit all, improve land, sea, air and cyber connectivity, and construct major international logistics and trade routes, including the China-Europe Railway Express and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. We will join forces to build economic corridors and develop economic and trade cooperation zones, so that more countries can participate in and benefit from global value, industrial and supply chains. We have agreed to expand people-to-people exchanges and enhance international cooperation on improving people's lives.

Fourth, we will facilitate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We have agreed that Belt and Road cooperation should be development-oriented and facilitate global development, especially the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Belt and Road cooperation should help developing countries break their logjams in development, accelerate their industrialization, and improve their capacity for foreign trade. We need to balance economic growth, social development and environmental protection, following a path of green, low-carbon and sustainable development. We need to include ecological conservation, environmental governance and climate change response into Belt and Road cooperation to build a green Silk Road. We have all agreed to fight corruption together to build a clean Silk Road.

Fifth, we support a global partnership on connectivity. Through Belt and Road cooperation we will build a close partnership with a focus on connectivity. The Belt and Road Forum, a manifestation of our partnership, is an important multilateral cooperation platform. We hope to build it into an effective mechanism. We have, to various degrees, engaged in multilateral dialogue and cooperation platforms initiated or established for specific purposes, and reviewed the reports of policy proposals submitted by the Advisory Council of the forum. As many colleagues proposed to make the forum a regular mechanism, we will give serious consideration to their suggestions.

During this forum, in addition to the Joint Communiqué of the Leaders' Roundtable, the participants have signed many other agreements on a number of projects, and initiated a package of measures. As the host country, China will formulate and issue a List of Deliverables composed of more than 280 items. During this forum, we held a CEO conference involving businesspeople from over 80 countries and regions, and signed cooperation agreements worth a total of US billion. Yesterday, at the opening ceremony of this forum, I announced major measures for future reform and opening up in China. I believe all these measures will provide an important opportunity for Belt and Road cooperation and global economic growth. After the forum, I will introduce to the press the issues we discussed and the agreements we reached.

As this Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation draws to a close, I wish, on behalf of the Chinese government and people as well as in my own name, to express my heartfelt appreciation to you all. Thank you for your firm support to the Chinese side as we prepared for and hosted this forum.

Now I declare the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is closed.