Int'l think tank forum promotes Belt and Road construction
- By Zhang Junmian
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 21, 2018
The Belt and Road Forum for International Think Tank Cooperation opened in Dunhuang, Gansu province on September 20, aiming to promote exchanges, mutual understanding and pragmatic cooperation among governments, political parties, think tanks and scholars from countries along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The three-day forum, with a theme of "The Way Towards Future Civilization," drew around 150 delegates, including political party leaders, government officials, think tank experts and entrepreneurs from 32 countries sharing their wisdom and insights on the prospects of strengthening economic and trade cooperation, and people-to-people ties.
The plenary session, with the theme of "The Five-year Anniversary of the Belt and Road: Retrospect and Prospect," took place right after the opening ceremony, while two parallel forums were staged in the afternoon, respectively focusing on promoting concrete cooperation and pursuing sustainable development, and building a spiritual homeland for the BRI.
Lin Duo, secretary of the CPC Gansu Provincial Committee, said in his speech that jointly developing the Initiative called for not only synergy of development plans and projects, but collective wisdom and strengthened public opinion communication.
Gansu, an important window for China's opening up to the West, planned to deepen cooperation with think tanks at home and abroad and work with different participating parties to build the Belt and Road into a road for peace, prosperity, openness, innovation and civilization, he pledged.
The BRI involves not only economic and trade cooperation, but also cultural connectivity, said Guo Yezhou, vice minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Silk Road Think Tank Association Council.
More efforts will be made in the future to promote cooperation in education, culture, sports, science and technology and tourism, so as to bring about more substantial benefits for people living along the routes, said Guo.
Evariste Ndayishimiye, secretary general of the CNDD-FDD of Burundi, said, the Initiative will boost synergy between development plans of different countries and the progress of human civilization.
Burundi will enhance cooperation with China in more areas to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results at a higher level and jointly build a brighter future, Ndayishimiye said.
Santos Cerdan, member of Federal Executive Committee of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and secretary of Regional Coordination, PSOE, said the BRI is carrying on the spirit of the ancient Silk Road involving economic cooperation as well as cultural exchanges.
He said Spain had an array of advantages for participation and would strengthen cooperation with China to build the Initiative into an important platform for boosting world peace and prosperity.
Ephraim Nekongo, secretary general of the SWAPO Party Youth League of Namibia, suggested that exchanges between the youths of China and Namibia should be enhanced because the young in both countries represented the future.
Communication and exchanges between them would help enhance mutual understanding, Nekongo said.
China has so far signed 150 cooperation documents with 106 countries and 29 international organizations since the Initiative was proposed in 2013, according to Zhang Ming, deputy director of the West Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission.
China has invested more than US$80 billion in countries along the routes of the Initiative and established 82 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, creating more than 240,000 local jobs.
The forum, September 18-20, was co-hosted by the Silk Road Think Tank Association of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee and Gansu Provincial People's Government.
It is an important part of the 3rd Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo, being held Sept. 27-28.
Dunhuang, most famous for the wall paintings of its Mogao Grottoes, was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road.
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