FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD
By Li Ziguo
The Belt and Road Initiative delivers shared benefits as vision turns into reality
In May 2017, China hosted the First Belt and Road Forum for InetrnationalCooperation (BRF). The Second BRF, to be held in Beijing in laet April under thetheme Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future, is expectedto send a message of further strengthening international economic cooperation,promoting global growth and building an open global economy. Ahead of theevent, Beijing Review presents a cover story package, including experts’observations as well as reports from companies on the ground, ot demonstratehow this initiative has gained traction over the years
The new runway of the Velana International Airport constructed by Beijing Urban Construction Group Co. Ltd.is seen in Male, the Maldives, on September 14, 2018
When the Belt and Road Initiative was first put forward in 2013, few might have imagined that it would encompass more than 150 countries and international organizations in collaborative projects in a matter of years.
The initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and consisting of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to boost connectivity along and beyond the routes of the ancient Silk Road. With a view to enhancing both China’s development and its cooperation with global partners, it focuses on cementing links in five key areas: policies,infrastructure, trade, finance and people-topeople bonds.
The author is deputy director of the Center for the Belt and Road Initiative, China Institute of International Studies
Policy coordination
The number of cooperation documents signed between China and other countries has increased substantially as the circle of participants in the Belt and Road Initiative widens. Italy became the first member of the Group of Seven to sign a memorandum of understanding on the initiative with China in March. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Italy is glad to seize this historic opportunity to join the Belt and Road Initiative, with its special geographical advantage in building connectivity.
本研究显示，实验组老年非小细胞肺癌患者满意水平高于对照组，P＜0.05；实验组术后治疗的依从性评分、住院时间优于对照组，P＜0.05；护理前两组血气分析的相关指标以及焦虑情绪相似，P＞0.05；护理后实验组血气分析的相关指标以及焦虑情绪优于对照组，P＜0.05。实验组术后肺部感染及呼吸衰竭等老年非小细胞肺癌并发症发生率低于对照组，P＜0.05。
By the beginning this year, 82 industrial parks had been built by Chinese enterprises in 24 countries, with a total investment of$30.45 billion. A total of 4,098 enterprises had been attracted to these parks.
To date, China has signed 173 cooperation documents with 125 countries and 29 international organizations. According to Building the Belt and Road: Concept,Practice and China’s Contribution issued in May 2017, there were only 46 agreements with 39 countries and international organizations at the time. Meanwhile, the Belt and Road vision has been incorporated into the documents of major international institutions including the UN, the Group of 20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
China has continued to work with relevant countries to create a transport infrastructure network connecting the sub-regions in Asia and linking Asia, Africa and Europe to enhance connectivity and boost the ef ficiency of regional and sub-regional logistics. Over the past two years, the Mombasa-Nairobi railway and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway have started commercial operations, while the construction of the China-Laos railway,the Hungary-Serbia railway, the China-Thailand railway and the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia has begun.Moreover, the Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway and transportation corridors between China and Russia have both emerged as promising projects.
Recent years have also witnessed the flourishing of new business models such as e-commerce. The Electronic World Trade Platform, launched by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is accelerating its construction.China and 75 other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including Japan,the United States, the European Union and Russia, released a joint statement in January,intending to initiate WTO negotiations on trade-related aspects of e-commerce.
村中建筑沿东西走向可分为3个片区，呈一字型沿古驿道展开：村东石碹窑洞居住片区，分布在驿道两侧，山势陡峭，院落面积小，建设年代较早；村西集中窑洞居住片区，地势较低，较为平缓，院落面积大；驿道南侧散居窑洞居住片区，其西为煤窑，地势较低，但山势陡峭。
将滨海新区城市的文化特征、精神特征、地域特征融合到以城市整体形象设计中，通过归纳整理提取出代表元素，并运用图形和文字相结合进行设计表现，并且将多元素重组应用在城市形象相关的设计中，构成由平面到立体的滨海新区城市品牌形象。地域文化元素以城市VI设计、环境公共设施设计、城市景观设计等为载体，体现地域文化特色，使人们在多重设计中感受、体验滨海新区文化。特色明确的城市品牌形象可以增加人们的认知和识别度，从而扩大城市影响力和知名度。
Various forms of the “China plus” model have been proposed, promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation in different fields. In October 2018, China and 17 other countries announced the building of the Belt and Road energy partnership. A forum on international commercial mediation for the Belt and Road was held in the same month in Italy,where a joint declaration was issued by 21 institutions from 12 countries. In May 2018,China and member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union signed an agreement to cut trade barriers and facilitate economic activities, representing a new stage of enhanced cooperation.
Connecting countries
Third-party market cooperation was put forward for the first time by China and France in 2015. Using this concept, China aims to cooperate with developed countries to promote the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past years, many projects have been carried out in third-party markets,and tangible results have been achieved.
Among all the projects, the China-Europe railway express is the most striking. In 2018,trips made by cargo trains traveling between China and Europe totaled 6,363, a year-onyear increase of 73 percent. The number of return trips from Europe to China was 2,690, an increase of 111 percent over 2017.Plenty of high-quality products from other countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative enter the Chinese market this way.
The building of a Silk Road in the air between Luxembourg and Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, is another highlight. The role of this airborne Silk Road should not be underestimated. The total volume of cargo handled at Zhengzhou’s airport reached 500,000 tons in 2017, of which shipments to and from Luxembourg accounted for nearly a third on 789 flights.
Achievements have been made in the construction of free trade areas. On January 1,2018, the free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Georgia took effect, the first of its kind since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed. Subsequently, China completed FTA negotiations with the Maldives and Mauritius. The agreement with the Maldives is the first bilateral FTA for the country, while Mauritius is the first African country to sign an FTA with China. As of March 2019, China had signed 17 FTAs with 25 countries and regions, while nine more are under negotiations, involving more than 30 countries.
Japan, previously reluctant to participate in the initiative, has changed its attitude and begun to work together with China in thirdparty markets. In October 2018, during the first forum on China-Japan third-party market cooperation, a total of 52 agreements with a combined value of $18 billion were concluded by the two sides. These covered fields such as infrastructure, finance, and logistics and information technology. The results of third-party market cooperation have effectively responded to the doubts and prejudices some countries have about the initiative.
Effective implementation
Production capacity cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative fits participating countries’ economic diversi fication and modernization strategies. Industrial parks and the China-Kazakhstan model are two representatives of this.
在出版技术市场建设方面，通过“国家出版基金”“改革发展项目库”“出版融合发展重点实验室”等措施的推进，出版技术市场日益成熟，推动了人工智能、大数据、虚拟现实、增强现实等新技术在新闻出版业的充分应用。
Chinese and Laotian technicians at a steel structure processing plant of the China Railway No.5 Engineering Group’s China-Laos railway project division in Luang Namtha, Laos,on March 21
江西省位于长江中下游南岸，属亚热带季风气候，雨量丰沛，多年平均年降水量 1 638 mm，4—6月为降雨集中期，降水量接近全年一半。江西山地、丘陵占全省面积78%，东、南、西三面环山，南部属南岭山地，九连山、大庾岭，西部有幕阜山脉、九岭山脉，罗霄山脉及武功山、井冈山，东北部有怀玉山脉，东部武夷山脉，其主峰黄岗山小岩头山海拔2 158 m，为全省最高峰；特殊的气候和自然环境，决定着江西是一个山洪频发的省份。
China-Kazakhstan cooperation in production capacity is quite different, where there are no geographical restrictions and governments play an obvious guiding role.Intergovernmental discussions have brought about the establishment of funds and special loans, enabling the projects to be carried out. In November 2018, the 15th discussion on production capacity and investment was held, during which 55 key projects were agreed upon with a total investment of about $27.4 billion. This model has been applied to other countries. For instance, China and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding on key projects concerning capacity cooperation in February, which identified 18 projects.
In recent years, the Belt and Road Initiative has been facing critical questions by some countries. As the number of projects carried out under the initiative increases, it is a fact that they might be implemented with varying quality. China is making significant policy shifts to ensure high-quality implementation.
The emphasis is on guidance for Chinese enterprises. For example, in August 2017,the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce,the People’s Bank of China and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a joint circular to provide further guidance and regulation on overseas investment, which drew a clear line between the do’s and don’ts. Other documents include a code of conduct on private enterprises’ overseas investment and operation promulgated in January 2018,and guidelines on compliance management of enterprises operating overseas issued in December the same year. These are intended to guide enterprises to operate in compliance with laws and regulations.
1.5.4 安全性评价 安全性指标：①不良事件/反应发生率，用药后随时观察；②一般体检项目，包括体温、心率、呼吸、血压等。③血常规、尿常规、心电图和肝功能、肾功能。以临床不良反应发生率为主要安全性评价指标。药物的临床不良事件与试验药物因果关系判断采用卫生部1994年标准［9］。
Another focus is put on services to these enterprises. Examples include the guidelines on taxation for enterprises going global issued by the State Taxation Administration in October 2017 and an overview of foreign exchange management policies in Belt and Road participating countries issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange a year later. These documents are designed to help enterprises operating overseas become better equipped to cope with uncertainties in foreign markets.
The reason why the initiative has grown in popularity is that it focuses on development, the biggest concern for many countries. This means it is in line with the strategic interests of these countries. In most participating countries, there is a large development gap, and much remains to be done regarding infrastructure and urban construction. With a full range of industries,strong capacity and high efficiency, China can cooperate with them in a broad array of areas. In addition, given burgeoning cooperation between China and developed countries in third-party markets, an even stronger synergy will be forged.
Copyedited by Craig Crowther
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标签：the Center for the Belt and Road Initiative论文; China Institute of International Studies论文;