B&R Initiative should be viewed as a global project: panelists

By Guo Yiming: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, March 25, 2018

Panelists discuss the Belt and Road Initiative at an economic forum of the China Development Forum on March 24 in Beijing. [Photo courtesy of China Development Forum]

The China-proposed initiative of building a modern Silk Road needs to be understood as a global project, with no country dominating or being dominated, said panelists during an economic summit in Beijing on Saturday.

The Economic Summit of the annual China Development Forum convened at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on March 24, hosting a delegation of global business leaders, scholars and government officials.

The event was held in the midst of brewing trade tensions ratcheted up by rising protectionism headed by the United States, prompting panelists to further weigh in on Beijing's flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that advocates open development and unimpeded trade.

The initiative, first proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to link Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes through enhanced infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity under the principle of "extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits."

Vincent H.S. Lo, chairman of Hong Kong-based Shui On Land Limited, said the B&R Initiative "is not a China project" but a global one and needs wider global participation.

Around US$70 trillion in infrastructure investment will be needed across the world between 2016 and 2030, with half of the gap in countries along the Belt and Road, Lo said, citing figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

This means that infrastructure investment in those countries should be up to US$2 trillion per year, he explained. "No organizations alone, even the World Bank, AIIB or ADB, can afford this, so the Belt and Road needs to be a world project."

The Initiative now spans about 65 countries as well as over 60 percent of the world's population.

Despite growing influence and participation across the world, the initiative has often been the target of misconceptions ever since its introduction five years ago, with some referring to it as a scheme for China's geopolitical expansion, said Kevin Rudd, a senior fellow at John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and former Australian Prime Minister.

To break away from the misconceptions, China should be very open and transparent in developing the initiative, as well as following high standards in environmental protection, labor employment, working conditions and contract making, he added.

Nicholas Stern, professor of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and president of the Royal Economic Society, said that China should be a global partner in the globalized drive and set an example for improving the business climate, environmental conditions and other universal standards.

The initiative is showing up on the radar of companies around the world, including some in the U.S. According to a CNBC report earlier this month, at least 15 companies cited it as an opportunity for business growth.