By He Yin, The State Council Information Office of China on Oct. 10 issued a white paper titled “The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future.”
The white paper was released ahead of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to introduce the achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the past 10 years. This will help enhance the international community’s understanding of the initiative, facilitate high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation, and bring the benefits of the initiative to more countries and peoples.
Only by placing the BRI under the grand coordinates of history can its significance for the times and the world be better understood.
In today’s world, as technological revolution and productive forces develop, economic globalization has become a historical trend. However, the economic globalization dominated by a few countries failed to achieve inclusive and shared development.
The world is moving ever closer towards greater multipolarity, economic globalization, and cultural diversity, and becoming increasingly information-orientated in the process. It is increasingly clear that humanity is a global community of a shared future in which everyone’s interests are inseparably entwined.
However, the deficits in peace, development, security, and governance continue to grow rather than shrink. At the critical crossroads of history, building a global community of shared futures is where the hope lies for the progress of human society.
The BRI takes the building of a global community of shared futures as its overarching goal, creating a platform for action and offering approaches to realizing this goal. It turns visions into reality and is an important public good for improving global governance.
In the 10 years that have passed since the launch of the BRI, cooperation under the BRI framework has brought remarkable and profound change to the world and become a major milestone in the history of humanity. The BRI has boosted China’s development and benefited the rest of the world.
The initiative boosts development and builds poverty reduction capacity in participating countries. It delivers notable results in projects that improve people’s lives, bringing tangible benefits to participating countries.
The BRI boosts the momentum for global development, encourages deeper regional economic cooperation, promotes global trade, and maintains the stability of global supply chains, thus adding vitality to economic globalization.
It follows the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, promotes and activates authentic multilateralism, and strengthens the position and role of developing countries and emerging economies in the world market system. It marks a significant improvement in global governance.
The BRI boosts people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, garnering strength for the progress of human civilization. Facts have proven that BRI cooperation responds to the call of the times and benefits the people in participating countries. It thus enjoys popular support. It is a path for all participating countries to achieve modernization and a path of hope leading to a bright future. It is resilient and vigorous and offers broad prospects.
The reason for the BRI to have gathered world-changing strength in the past decade is that it always adheres to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and advocates win-win cooperation in pursuit of the greater good and shared interests. It emphasizes that all countries are equal participants, contributors, and beneficiaries, and encourages economic integration, interconnected development, and the sharing of achievements.
The principle of extensive consultation signifies that the BRI is not a solo endeavor by China, but a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders. From the making of blueprints to specific project design and implementation, the BRI emphasizes equal participation, effective communication, collective wisdom, and freedom from any political or economic preconditions.
The principle of joint contribution highlights that the BRI is not one of China’s international aid programs or geopolitical tools, but a collaborative effort for shared development. It aims to align with existing regional mechanisms rather than becoming their substitute and leverage complementary strengths.
China has signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations across five continents, to strengthen strategic synergy and promote interconnected development.
The principle of shared benefits underscores the importance of win-win cooperation. It aims to identify common interests and grounds for cooperation, meet the development needs of all parties, and address the real concerns of the people. This principle emphasizes sharing development opportunities and outcomes among all participating countries, ensuring that none of them is left behind.
Most participants are developing countries, all seeking to leverage collective strengths to address challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, lagging industrial development, limited industrialization, insufficient capital and technology, and a shortage of skilled workers, to promote their own economic and social development.
It is based on the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits that the BRI has achieved authentic win-win cooperation.
In a world full of uncertainties and instabilities, all countries should urgently bridge differences through dialogue, oppose rifts with unity, and promote development through cooperation. Against this backdrop, the BRI becomes more meaningful and is an initiative to be welcomed.
China is willing to work with all other parties to take the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to strengthen confidence, maintain resolve, and raise extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits to new heights. Cooperation will thrive, and the BRI can look forward to an even brighter future.
