Tag: InternationalNews

An Eritrean expert said that cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a crucial impetus for promoting industrialization and diversification of Eritrea’s economy.
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Guided by the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, BRI cooperation has covered the majority of the world’s countries. By June 2023, China had signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with over 150 countries and 30 international organizations across five continents, yielding a number of signature projects as well as “small yet beautiful” programs focusing on improving people’s livelihoods.

As the BRI marks its 10th anniversary, especially with the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation scheduled for Oct. 17 to 18 in Beijing, a brief review of the initiative’s popularity and solid results is necessary to respond to those nitpickers who are negative about the BRI and have defamed it via deceitful means.

From 2013 to 2022, the cumulative value of trade between China and BRI partner countries reached 19.1 trillion U.S. dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 6.4 percent. Cumulative two-way investment between China and partner countries reached 380 billion dollars, including 240 billion dollars from China.

A series of landmark BRI projects such as the China-Laos Railway, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, were completed and put into operation, improving the infrastructure of partner countries and significantly enhancing connectivity.

As regards specific cooperation projects, the annual cargo throughput of the Port of Piraeus in Greece has increased to above 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units. The container terminal of Piraeus now ranks among the world’s 40 largest ports. Before China’s investment, Port of Piraeus ranked 93rd. Hambantota International Port in Sri Lanka is steadily moving toward its goal of becoming a hub in the region, with its annual throughput of bulk cargo increasing to 1.21 million tonnes. Yet some Western media have labeled the Hambantota port a “failed project” under the BRI.

To expand channels and platforms for investment and financing, China has funded the establishment of the Silk Road Fund and established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, along with other participating countries. These serve as a supplement to other multilateral financing institutions and help bridge financial gaps in improving infrastructure in developing countries.

The BRI, which is committed to open, green and clean cooperation, has created a new paradigm for cooperation and become the world’s largest platform for international cooperation and a popular public good. It has seen notable outcomes in promoting connectivity in policy, infrastructure, trade, financing and people-to-people bonds, reinforcing the development capacity of relevant countries, improving people’s lives, and paving the way toward shared development and prosperity.

BRI-related cooperation principles have been incorporated into documents of organizations including the United Nations and the G20. The World Bank has estimated that by 2030, BRI-related investments could lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty.

The all-round progress in BRI cooperation is recognized internationally. The BRI has brought great benefits to the Global South and the global economy in its first decade. It not only increased connectivity through energy and infrastructure construction and unlocked growth potentials, but also expanded energy access for the poor across the world, said Kevin P. Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University.

As representatives from more than 130 countries and over 30 international organizations are set to convene in Beijing to pool wisdom and foster new momentum and consensus at the upcoming forum, the BRI will demonstrate greater creativity and vitality and open up fresh opportunities for common development and prosperity among participating countries in the second 10 years.

The global initiatives launched by China over the past decade, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), have helped promote development, security and stability worldwide, said a senior official of the Arab League (AL).

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China-Europe Railway Express, a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has deepened connectivity and boosted common development in Eurasia over the past decade.

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On Nov. 11, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Piraeus port, a flagship project of China-Greece Belt and Road cooperation, during his state visit to Greece. The project has brought the port back from the brink of bankruptcy through Chinese investment of capital and advanced technologies and equipment.

“The port was bustling with excitement, just like celebrating a festival,” Vamvakidis recalled. “President Xi’s visit is of great significance for every staff member and the entire port.”

Standing on a rooftop platform overlooking the port, Xi talked with the staff members.

“He spoke with wisdom and foresight,” Vamvakidis recalled.

Xi said the principles of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits — mean that no single country dictates the terms and all participants share the responsibilities and the gains.

In 2013, Xi proposed the BRI, an initiative drawing inspiration from the ancient silk routes that bridged the East and the West through trade and cultural exchanges.

Over the past decade, China has signed BRI cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and 30-plus international organizations, helping participating countries address challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, lagging industrial development, limited industrialization, insufficient capital and technology, and a shortage of skilled workers.

The Piraeus project is one of them. Situated on the Mediterranean coast, Piraeus is Greece’s largest port and boasts a history of over 2,000 years.

As a pivotal gateway linking Europe with Asia and Africa, this port serves as a testament to the vicissitudes of European maritime civilization.

Yet, the prominence of Piraeus had been steadily diminishing for years until Chinese shipping company COSCO made an investment in 2008, helping it out of the clutches of the international financial crisis.

Thanks to Belt and Road cooperation, Piraeus has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Its container operating capacity surged from around 1.5 million TEUs in 2010 to 6.2 million TEUs, making it one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean.

The time-honored port is bustling with vitality. China and Greece, two ancient civilizations that began exchanges over 2,000 years ago through the ancient Silk Road, have been once again closely linked through this port.

The Piraeus port project has been a success not just for the Greek people and Chinese companies, but also for the region and all of the port’s business partners, said Vamvakidis.

“Seeing is believing,” Xi said while visiting the port in 2019. “The BRI proposed by China is not mere rhetoric or a legend, but a concrete example of success and a wonderful reality.”

Shaanxi is not only the starting point of the eastern end of the ancient Silk Road, but also a major stop on the Belt and Road. With such unique advantages in terms of location, the province has been advancing opening up during the past 10 years.

“With high-end platforms as a ‘booster,’ we have steadily expanded institutional opening up in areas such as rules, regulations, management and standards, and carried out a series of innovative practices in fields such as economy, trade and people-to-people exchanges with countries jointly building the Belt and Road,” Xu Mingfei, vice governor of Shaanxi, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

According to the official, 17 projects involving Shaanxi stemming from the China-Central Asia Summit, which was held in May in Shaanxi’s capital city Xi’an, are presently progressing smoothly. Meanwhile, 36 measures resulting from practical experiences gained via the China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone have been replicated and promoted nationwide.

The influence of exhibitions and forums held in Shaanxi, such as the Silk Road International Exposition and the Euro-Asia Economic Forum, has been expanding over the past decade. The province boasts a total of five state-level economic development zones, seven national high-tech zones, and seven comprehensive bonded zones, which have provided strong impetus for Shaanxi’s further opening up to the outside world.

A China-Europe freight train loaded with 165 vehicles departed from the Xi’an international port station on Sept. 28, and headed for Russia’s capital Moscow. This train took the number of China-Europe freight trains handled by this port station to a total of 20,000 since the China-Europe freight train (Xi’an) service was launched in 2013.

“The service has regularly operated 17 international routes, linking with 45 countries and regions,” said Xu, noting that Shaanxi is accelerating export-oriented industrial agglomeration, improving the layout of overseas warehouses and overseas import and export commodity storage, processing and distribution centers, and promoting the construction of national import trade innovation demonstration zones and processing trade industrial parks.

From 2013 to 2022, the import and export volume between Shaanxi and BRI countries had increased by 18.4 percent annually, and exceeded 100 billion yuan (about 13.93 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time last year. The world’s top 500 enterprises established 157 foreign-funded companies in the province during this period.

By the end of 2022, 306 firms registered in Shaanxi Province had made a total overseas investment of 6.88 billion U.S. dollars, of which 1.82 billion U.S. dollars was invested in countries and regions jointly building the Belt and Road, accounting for 26.5 percent of the total.

“In the near future, we will continue to guide leading enterprises to go global, form overseas industrial clusters, and deeply participate in international industrial chain and supply chain cooperation to enhance supply chain resilience,” Xu said.

In addition, Shaanxi has continuously strengthened people-to-people exchanges with BRI participating countries during the past decade, holding activities such as the Silk Road International Arts Festival and the World Culture and Tourism Forum, and organizing various cultural exchange programs like the Shaanxi culture week and the intangible cultural heritage exhibition, which have been warmly welcomed overseas.

Xu said Shaanxi is striving to cultivate local and international compound talents. The proportion of international students from BRI countries in universities in the province has increased year by year, accounting for 71 percent of the total number of international students in Shaanxi in 2022.

“Shaanxi has become one of the top destinations for students from Central Asian countries,” Xu said.

The province will further its involvement in the development of the Belt and Road, build a “highland” of reform and opening up in the inland area, and make new contributions to achieving high-level opening up, Xu added.

“China’s Belt and Road Initiative has contributed significantly to transforming developing economies in Africa through developing infrastructure, reducing unemployment, and improving trade,” wrote Nadia Helmy, associate professor of political science at Egypt’s Beni-Suef University.

The patch of land is a part of the experimental demonstration zone of about 20 hectares jointly built by Chinese and Mongolian scientists, who have been exploring ways to achieve ecological restoration of desertified grasslands.

Mongolia has been suffering from serious ecological degradation and sandy desertification, as exemplified by frequent sandstorms in winter and spring, which also affect surrounding countries such as China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

Winter and spring are snowy and windy seasons in Mongolia, and the flat terrain there allows the wind to disperse sand and snow leeward. “We have been using our Chinese experience to help Mongolia block the flow of sand and make better use of snow, a precious water resource,” said Li Shengyu, a professor from Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG), Chinese Academy of Sciences.

He explained that the method called micro-terrain reshape has also been used in places with similar environmental conditions in China, such as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

By digging trenches to a depth of about one meter, and then piling the excavated earth on the sides, an uneven terrain is created. “The rough terrain makes the wind-blown sand and snow flow to accumulate in the trenches, where the snow melts and becomes an important water resource,” Li said, adding that they then planted some shrubs and grass in the trenches, which grew well from the sustenance provided by the snowmelt water and sand deposition.

The whole process seems to be simple but the technique lies in the details, said Lei Jiaqiang, a professor at the XIEG.

“For example, we need to adjust the direction of the trenches according to the direction of the wind, and we also need to control the depth of the trenches depending on wind speed. At the same time, the plants planted in the trenches need to be drought-tolerant with high resistance to adversity,” Lei added.

Moreover, to prevent the evaporation of the snowmelt water, the Chinese scientists put some new materials in the trenches, such as impermeable sand, a special type of sand that is breathable but does not allow water to permeate.

“We’ve found that this approach costs less and helps grasslands achieve recovery naturally,” Li said.

In addition to this micro-terrain reshape method, Chinese scientists have also applied other techniques to control desertification, such as rapid establishment of protection forests by machine, fly-seeding, enclosing of sandy pastures, and utilisation of the restoration potential of natural ecosystems.

According to statistics from the XIEG, compared with the pre-treatment period, the grassland in the demonstration zone saw a 50 to 208 percent increase in above-ground pasture production, an 88.29 percent reduction in surface sand flux, and a 10 to 45 percent increase in vegetation cover, respectively.

“These positive results prove that this approach has great application prospects, and we hope to promote this model in more areas,” said Li.

These cooperation efforts between Mongolian and Chinese scientists have already delivered positive impacts on desertification control and land degradation research, said Akhmadi Khaulenbek, an expert at the Institute of Geography and Geoecology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences.

“I believe our collaboration will not only positively impact Mongolia, but also other East Asian countries affected by yellow dust storms that originate on the Mongolian plateau. We can solve pressing regional and global issues together and improve the well-being of people,” he said.

Desertification is the cancer of Earth, which can spread to other areas, causing environmental and social problems, Lei said.

“The causes of desertification are very complex and are affected by climate change, human activities, geographical environment and so on, and so we need to apply different approaches according to different local conditions,” Lei explained.

At present, the XIEG is actively carrying out cooperation on desertification control in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) participating countries, and has set up several demonstration zones in Central Asia and Africa.

“Desertification governance is closely related to sustainable development and building a community with shared future for mankind. In the future, we can make use of more modern technologies, such as big data, artificial intelligence and the BeiDou system, to achieve harmony between human and aeolian environments,” Lei added.

First proposed in June 2018, the SCODA is becoming an important link in international industrial, supply and trade chains, boosting economic and trade cooperation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries.

It is also a zone for industrial cooperation, having attracted more than 70 projects with a total investment of over 200 billion yuan (about 27.9 billion U.S. dollars).

{{LOGISTICS CORRIDOR}}

Recently, 110 standard containers of used automobiles and auto parts transported by a ship from Incheon, the Republic of Korea, were reloaded onto a train in the SCO demonstration area bound for Almaty, Kazakhstan, a rail trip lasting 16 days.

The express railway service is an epitome of how the SCODA has been building a new logistics corridor to facilitate regional economic and trade cooperation.

Zang Yuanqi, a SCODA management committee official, said the demonstration area has set up a multimodal transportation service platform covering railway, sea, air and land ports, and customs and other government departments, ensuring speedy logistics for SCO and Belt and Road partners.

Based on the transport advantages of Qingdao, a coastal city, the multimodal transportation service is quickly making the demonstration area a gateway to Asia Pacific for SCO countries.

Apart from sea, air and road transport, the demonstration area operates 31 international freight train routes, reaching 54 cities in 23 Belt and Road partner countries.

With an efficient multimodal transportation network and simplified cross-border trade settlement and customs clearance, the demonstration area is building a Silk Road e-commerce base, said Zhang Dong, deputy director of the SCODA management committee.

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Earlier this year, several Kazakh enterprises reached a cooperation intention with the demonstration area to set up a trading center in Qingdao for specialty agricultural products from Kazakhstan.

“We chose to cooperate with the SCODA because of its good geographical location, which offers huge sea, rail and air transport advantages,” said Manarbek Tulegenov, chairman of EUROLOG LLP, a Kazakh logistics company. He added that entering the Chinese market is in the company’s strategic plan.

The SCODA is an important platform for logistics, trade, and investment cooperation between Central Asian countries and China, providing huge opportunities for Central Asian countries, said Botakoz Yelshibek, head of the Kazakhstan exhibition area at the SCO International Investment and Trade Expo held in Qingdao in June.

“China’s economic growth momentum is strong, and I hope that more Kazakh businesspeople will continue to deeply integrate into China’s new development paradigm and achieve win-win results through cooperation,” Yelshibek said.

The demonstration area has set up a comprehensive economic and trade platform to offer one-stop services covering trade, customs clearance, logistics, and finance. Nearly 5,000 enterprises have registered on the platform.

Said Saydakhmedov, a business specialist from Uzbekistan working for the platform, said many businesspeople from Belt and Road partner countries hoping to explore the Chinese market consult on issues related to laws and regulations, finance and tax, and subsidy policies.

The platform provides facilitation for pine nuts trading company Alhaj Mohammad Nazi Sadat Ltd of Afghanistan, which exports 70 percent of its products to China, helping the Afghan company to find Chinese clients, which means it is not solely reliant on expos and intermediaries.

With one-stop services on offer, pine nuts exported by the company can now reach Chinese warehouses in 15 days, cutting up to two-thirds off the delivery time.

{{HUGE POTENTIAL}}

The demonstration area has also either introduced or nurtured 10 trading platforms, linking more than 2,000 trading companies in doing so.

The SCO expo in June this year attracted 330 enterprises and institutions from 34 countries and regions, displaying more than 10,000 kinds of commodities from SCO countries, making it a big stage for Belt and Road cooperation.

Thanks to appropriate measures, the area’s trade with SCO countries had surged to 8.1 billion yuan in 2022 from 850 million yuan in 2019.

Further expanding overseas cooperation, the SCODA also signed a cooperation agreement with Kazakh logistics company DAMU in September.

The Chinese side can provide advanced experience and solutions as well as financing support, which is of great significance and attractive to the foreign partner, said Mayra Jumagaleeva, director of DAMU.

Seventy percent of DAMU’s imports come from China and Chinese vehicles are popular in Kazakhstan and have bright market prospects there, Jumagaleeva added. DAMU is planning to further build a platform selling China-made vehicles to Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.

The company expects that the cooperation agreement will activate further trade and investment cooperation and in the long term promote the construction of relevant free trade zones within the SCO framework, said Jumagaleeva.

As a unique economic and trade zone for SCO countries, the SCODA has massive potential and plays a key role in promoting new technologies and technology conversion in SCO countries and boosting international economic and trade cooperation, said Hakimov Masum, an official of Uzbekistan’s Tashkent State Transport University.

An instruction by President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, was conveyed at the meeting.

In the instruction, he stressed building stronger cultural confidence, following the approach of openness and inclusiveness, and upholding fundamental principles while breaking new ground to provide a strong ideological guarantee, spiritual strength and favorable cultural conditions for building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.

Culture plays a vital role in inspiring national spirit, maintaining national identity, and promoting economic and social development and well-rounded personal development.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, Xi has placed the work of public communication and culture in a prominent position, giving instructions and guidance in art, journalism, philosophy and social sciences, and culture, among others.

Xi introduced the concept of confidence in culture. He incorporated the core socialist values into the basic policy underpinning the endeavor to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

He also set clear tasks for public communication and culture: to uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics, rally public support, cultivate generations of young people with sound values and ethics, develop Chinese culture, and better present China to the world.

The new ideas and judgments about cultural development in the new era put forward by Xi are the crystallization of cultural development under the Party’s leadership. They have enriched and developed Marxist cultural theories and formed Xi Jinping Thought on Culture.

Xi Jinping Thought on Culture shows that the Party’s confidence in history and culture has reached a new height. It marks a milestone in the Party’s cause of public communication and culture.

Xi has raised a new cultural mission for the nation: to further advance cultural prosperity, build a leading country in culture, and foster modern Chinese civilization at a new starting point.

In his instruction made public at the national meeting over the weekend, Xi made requirements in seven aspects:

— strengthening the Party’s leadership over the work of public communication and culture;

— developing a socialist ideology that has the power to unite and inspire the people;

— cultivating and applying core socialist values;

— strengthening the penetration and credibility of the media and its ability to guide and influence;

— promoting the creative transformation and development of fine traditional Chinese culture;

— vigorously developing the cultural sector;

— enhancing international communication capacity and promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

Domestically, China’s national rejuvenation requires both a strong material foundation and spiritual strength. Globally, profound changes in the international landscape prompt an urgent need to increase China’s cultural soft power and the appeal of Chinese culture.

Facing such situations and tasks, it is of great importance to promote the high-quality development of the work of public communication and culture. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture has thus provided powerful inspiration and a scientific guide for action.