Despite the epidemic, Belt and Road cooperation is making strong progress

The first ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh, invested by China National Machinery Import and Export (Group) Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "China Machinery"), a subsidiary of China General Technology Group, has fully entered the commercial operation stage. Payala 2×660 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power station is located in Boduakali County in southern Bangladesh and is a key project along the "Belt and Road". The picture shows an overview of the 2×660 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power station in Payala.

According to data released recently by China's Ministry of Commerce, from January to November 2020, Chinese enterprises in the Belt and Road along the 57 countries along the non-financial direct investment of 110.68 billion yuan, an increase of 25.7%.

Kazakhstan's International News Agency said in a commentary that the Belt and Road Initiative is proving to be a stable, sustainable economic cooperation mechanism that can fully cope with the negative impact of the epidemic.

Marcus, professor of international political economy at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil, said: "We support all efforts that can improve infrastructure, as the Belt and Road Initiative has shown in Latin America, in Brazil." At a time when the world economy is facing challenges from protectionism and unilateralism, China has always adhered to multilateralism and continued to open wider to the outside world, injecting impetus into regional and global economic recovery.

In 2020, the sudden COVID-19 epidemic swept the world, seriously affecting the economic and social life of countries around the world. In the face of the test of the epidemic, the Belt and Road Initiative has shown strong resilience and vitality. Relevant projects have continued to advance, and cooperation results have many bright spots, which have become a bright spot in the haze of the epidemic.

On the whole, since the outbreak of the epidemic, the Belt and Road cooperation has shown the following characteristics:

First, the need for cooperation is on the rise. The epidemic has a strong impact on the normal operation and development of economies around the world. Whether it is fighting the epidemic or reviving the economy, the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative need this international cooperation platform to improve their resilience, while strengthening policy coordination, communication and sharing of relevant information with relevant parties.

Second, the areas of cooperation have been further expanded. In the face of the new challenges brought by the epidemic, the Belt and Road Circle of Friends has focused on global public health cooperation and made great efforts to build a "healthy Silk Road", further enriching the connotation of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. At the same time, cooperation in the fields of digital economy, green development and regional economic integration is also deepening.

Third, the forms of cooperation should be further diversified. In the past, the Belt and Road Initiative focused on cross-border flows of trade, investment and goods and services. Today, various online transactions are in the ascendant, the integration of online and offline is deepening, and the real economy and virtual economy are mutually reinforcing, making the Belt and Road Initiative more dynamic.

Fourth, the institutionalization of cooperation has been further improved. Faced with the new situation of century-old changes combined with the global epidemic, countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative have strengthened policy communication and rules alignment, such as the signing of the RECP and the completion of the negotiations on the China-Eu investment and Trade Agreement. All these achievements have made the Belt and Road cooperation move towards institutionalization.

In the more than seven years since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, its main role has been to enhance global connectivity. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, this role has become more obvious. It contains two dimensions of meaning:

-- On the hardware side, promoting connectivity in infrastructure. The development of the China-Europe freight train is a typical case. According to data released by China National Railway Corporation Limited, a total of 12,400 China-Europe express trains will be launched in 2020, an increase of 50% year-on-year. 1.135 million TEU containers were shipped, an increase of 56% year-on-year; Access to more than 90 European cities, involving more than 20 countries.

-- On the software side, that is, to stabilize the global industrial chain supply chain. In 2020, compared with the sharp contraction of global investment and trade, the investment and trade of countries related to the "Belt and Road" show strong resilience, and the achievements of connectivity construction in previous years have played a fundamental role in this. This will help speed up the recovery of industrial and supply chains damaged by the epidemic and inject strong impetus into regional and global economic recovery.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a public good that China has contributed to the world. China's proposal has won wide recognition from the international community. To date, China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents on Belt and Road cooperation with more than 130 countries and 31 international organizations.

From the perspective of development, the epidemic has tested the concept and basic principles of Belt and Road cooperation, namely the importance of openness, inclusiveness and transparency, and the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. The epidemic has made countries increasingly realize that mankind lives together in a global village, a community of shared future in which we are interdependent. The Belt and Road Initiative is an important platform for implementing the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind.

In practical terms, China's actions speak louder than its words. We have provided material and technical assistance to the best of our ability to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, and actively helped other countries and regions fight the epidemic and recover their economies. During the epidemic, China has become the world's largest supplier of anti-epidemic materials, providing more than 200 billion masks, 2 billion protective suits and 800 million test kits to other countries.

In today's world, unilateralism and trade protectionism are on the rise, and anti-globalization trends are surging. The international multilateral trading system faces serious challenges. Against such a backdrop, the Belt and Road cooperation has achieved remarkable results, once again proving the importance of multilateralism. Promoting connectivity and upholding openness and inclusiveness are the only way to tackle global crises and achieve long-term development, and to fundamentally promote the common development and prosperity of human society.

Interviewee: Xu Xiujun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences