President Xi Jinping delivers the keynote speech via video at the
opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference on
Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua] 'All interested countries' welcome to help form partnership for common good President Xi Jinping outlined on Tuesday a new vision for the joint
building of the Belt and Road Initiative, saying that China will
endeavor to build a closer partnership for health cooperation,
connectivity, green development, openness and inclusiveness. In the keynote speech delivered via video link at the opening
ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021, Xi
reiterated China's commitment to make the BRI "a public road open to
all" instead of a "private path owned by one single party". "All interested countries are welcome aboard to take part in the
cooperation and share in its benefits. Belt and Road cooperation pursues
development, aims at mutual benefits and conveys a message of hope," he
said. It was the fifth time Xi has attended the forum held at the coastal
town in China's southern Hainan province, which was also attended
virtually by leaders from 14 nations and two international
organizations. The president elaborated on China's vision for high-quality Belt and
Road cooperation under the principles of extensive consultation, joint
contributions and shared benefits and championing the philosophy of
open, green and clean cooperation. The goal is to make the cooperation high-standard, people-centered and sustainable, he said. With Chinese businesses already launching joint COVID-19 vaccine
production in nations participating in the BRI, such as Indonesia and
Brazil, China will expand cooperation with various parties in infectious
disease control, public health, traditional medicine and other areas to
jointly protect the lives and health of people in all countries, he
said. In building a closer partnership for connectivity, China will work
together with different nations to boost connectivity in infrastructure,
enable better alignment in rules and standards, ensure unimpeded
channels for trade and investment cooperation and actively develop Silk
Road e-commerce, he said. To boost green development, Xi highlighted the need to strengthen
cooperation on green infrastructure, green energy and green finance, and
improve the BRI International Green Development Coalition and the Green
Investment Principles for the Belt and Road Development. China stands ready to make the BRI into a pathway to poverty
alleviation and a way to grow in the spirit of openness and
inclusiveness, he said, citing a World Bank report suggesting that by
2030, Belt and Road projects could help lift 7.6 million people from
extreme poverty and 32 million people from moderate poverty across the
world. The president also expounded on China's appeal for all nations in
Asia and beyond to fight the pandemic through solidarity, strengthening
global governance, and pursuing a community with a shared future for
mankind. "Humanity is facing a growing governance deficit, trust deficit,
development deficit and peace deficit. Much remains to be done to
achieve universal security and common development," he said. However, Xi said that there has been no fundamental change in the
trend toward a multipolar world, with economic globalization showing
renewed resilience and the call for upholding multilateralism and
enhancing communication and coordination growing stronger. He emphasized the importance of consultation on an equal footing to
create a future of shared benefits, saying that global affairs should be
handled through extensive consultation, and the future of the world
should be decided by all countries working together. "We must not let the rules set by one or a few countries be imposed
on others, or allow unilateralism pursued by certain countries to set
the pace for the whole world," he said. He underlined openness as the key to post-COVID economic recovery,
saying that it is important to promote trade and investment
liberalization and facilitation, deepen regional economic integration
and enhance supply, industrial, data and human resources chains. The president stressed the need for stronger international
cooperation on the research, development, production and distribution of
vaccines and to increase their accessibility and affordability in
developing countries. "The COVID-19 pandemic has made it all the more clear to people
around the world that we must reject the Cold-War and zero-sum mentality
and oppose a new Cold War and ideological confrontation in whatever
forms," he said. Xi also announced that China will host the second Conference on
Dialogue of Asian Civilizations once the pandemic comes under control. Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary
Fund, said in a speech via video link that the importance of solidarity
between countries remains constant in a world of change. "We welcome China's commitment to reach net zero (carbon emissions)
by 2060-and other major economies are making similar pledges. The green
investments needed to get there can be a quadruple win-good for people,
for our planet, for growth and for jobs," she said. Xi's quotes ・ What we need in today's world is justice, not hegemony. ・ Attempts to "erect walls" or "decouple" run counter to the law of economics and market principles. ・ Bossing others around or meddling in others' internal affairs would not get one any support. ・ The Belt and Road Initiative is a public road open to all, not a private path owned by one single party. ・ We may at times encounter stormy waves and dangerous rapids, but as
long as we pool our efforts and keep to the right direction, the giant
vessel of human development will stay on an even keel and sail toward a
brighter future.
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