When a train approached a railway station in Warsaw, Poland, on June 20 last year, President Xi Jinping, who was making a state visit to the country, happily bit into a red apple, as did Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The two leaders were attending a ceremony to mark the arrival of the first China-Europe Block Train. It was carrying Chinese-made products to Warsaw. When the train returned to China, it was filled with Polish goods, including apples.
Boosting (推动) ties between Asia and the rest of the world is one of the goals of the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Together, they are known as the Belt and Road Initiative (“一带一路”倡议).
The initiative was put forward by Xi in 2013. With its main ideas of joint (共同
的) effort and shared benefits, it has been defined as “a chorus (合唱) of all countries along the routes (路线), not only for China itself” by Xi.
“Instead of seeking any sphere (领域) of influence, China calls on all countries to join the circle of friends for the Belt and Road,” he said in a speech in January 2016 at the Arab League headquarters (总部) in Cairo, Egypt.
On May 14 and 15 in Beijing, at least 29 heads of state and government are attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. The meeting is expected to turn a new page on the initiative.
Since it began just three years ago, the Belt and Road Initiative has progressed very quickly and seen many successful outcomes. China has won the support of over 130 countries and international organizations – more than 40 have signed cooperation agreements with China.
According to the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s
top economic planner, Chinese businesses have invested (投入) more than $50 billion (345 billion yuan) in countries along the Belt and Road. This has helped build 56 economic and trade cooperation zones in 20 of those countries, generating (创造) nearly $1.1 billion in tax revenue (税收) and 180,000 local jobs.
Wang Yiwei, a professor at the Renmin University of China’s School of International Relations, said that since the launch of the initiative, China has been sharing its expertise in fields such as construction and clean energy with countries and regions (地区) along the routes.
A series of major transportation, energy and communication projects have advanced over the past three years, along with the implementation (落实) of the Belt and Road Initiative. These include the multipurpose Padma Bridge in Bangladesh, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and China Railway Express trains to Europe.
“Through the Belt and Road Initiative, I want to share China’s development opportunities with the countries along the routes and achieve joint prosperity (繁荣),” Xi said in his keynote speech (主题演讲) at the opening ceremony of the business leader’s forum of the G20 last September.
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