Xi unveils new action plan for Chinese Belt, Road Initiative

Author: South China Morning Post | Published: Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the belt and road forum in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Chinese President announced an eight-point vision for the infrastructure scheme, including funding and green development pledges.

Xi Jinping’s address at Wednesday’s opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be closely watched for any new light he may shed on the future of the global infrastructure initiative.

Representatives from 140 countries and 30 global organisations are attending the forum, which marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Among them is Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to speak after Xi, as well as leaders and businesspeople from across the developing world.

The forum also intends to position China as a leader among less developed countries and a global power.

Some economic background

China’s economic recovery is gaining a little momentum, with gross domestic product in the third quarter up 1.3 per cent on the previous three months, according to official statistics released just ahead of the speech.

This compares with a 0.8 per cent rise in the second quarter.

Year-on-year, GDP grew 4.9 per cent in the third quarter, higher than market expectations.

The previous quarter saw a 6.3 per cent year-on-year rise.

Xi praises energy solutions

President Xi lauded belt and road energy projects for solving the energy problems of many developing countries.

Xi also noted that port developments have created new economic corridors, which he said had been at the centre of the initiative, along with infrastructure networks.

Rail, aviation and sea links were the “skeleton” of the initiative to effectively promote the circulation of goods, funds, technology and personnel from various countries, he said.

Health corridor

Xi says the initiative became a health corridor after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing facial masks, and vaccines and working with developing countries to produce vaccines.

‘Greatest common denominator’

Xi has told the assembled world leaders that the belt and Road Initiative has brought together “the greatest common denominator of human development”.

Previous experiences have told us that countries need to “depend on each other”, he said.

Global links

The Chinese market is becoming more closely linked with the international market, Xi continues and adds that China will open up the Belt and Road Initiative further.

Chinese investment in foreign countries and direct investment in China shows confidence and hope, according to Xi. “Only through win-win cooperation things can be done and done well,” he says.

China ‘opposes decoupling’

“Those whose economy develops better should help those partners who are temporarily behind,” Xi said, adding that “ideological confrontation, geopolitical rivalry and bloc politics are not a choice for us”.

China did not encourage bloc confrontation and opposes unilateral sanctions, economic coercion and decoupling, he said.

The US dimension

In a veiled attack on the United States, he calls on countries to respect each other, criticising those who like to see others as a “threat”.

He says that China has not used weapons to conquer other countries since the times of the ancient Silk Road.

“Seeing other people’s development as a threat and economic interdependence as a risk will not allow you to live better and develop faster,” he continues.

He also says: “Treating others as a risk will not make your life better or develop faster.”

China’s development ‘not about itself’

Xi is using this speech to tie China’s growth with the rest of the developing nations.

“China’s development is not just about itself,” he said.

“Headwinds and tailwinds” are expected and countries should persist to reach their goals, Xi said, adding that the path to modernisation proposed by China is a “modernisation of mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity”.

Xi’s action plan

Xi starts to get the substance, unveiling a belt and road action plan. He pledges to speed up a China-Europe rail link and build a new logistics corridor across Asia.

He promises free-trade agreements and investment treaties with more countries and to remove restrictions on foreign investment in Chinese manufacturing.

An open world economy

China intends to support an open world economy, establish “Silk Road e-commerce” pioneering zones and sign with countries on free trade deals, to completely cancel foreign investment access restrictions in the manufacturing sector.

Xi also announced that China will host an annual “digital expo” to deepen SOE reforms and intellectual property rights.

Funding pledge

Xi says the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank will each set up a 350 billion yuan (US$47.8 billion) financing window, to help push forward “small but beautiful” projects. Another 80 billion yuan will go to other belt and road projects.

Xi says China aims to boost merchandised trade to US$32 trillion and service trade to US$5 trillion over the next five years by 2028.

He also promises to push green development, deepen green infrastructure, energy and transport cooperation, host more green development summits and increase support for Belt and Road international alliances.

Artificial intelligence

The Chinese leader pledges to work with other countries to build laboratories to push forward science development and an initiative to promote AI research.

He says he wants to promote the safe development of AI and host a Belt and Road science summit.

Green development

Xi said China will promote green development within the Belt and Road initiative, including holding conferences and training for 100,000 people from developing countries.

He also pledged to reduce restrictions on market entry and expand digital trade, including holding a yearly global digital trade expo.

Silk Road tourism

Xi also announced plans to establish a “Silk Road” tourism alliance to promote cultural exchanges.

He says China will work with international organisations, media, think tanks and cultural platforms to promote “integrity” and to improve the institutional building of a Belt and Road platform.

Xi announced that a secretariat will be established for future Belt and Road forums.

To sum up

In total, Xi’s plan consisted of eight points – many closely tied to Beijing’s goals of attaining “high-quality” growth over the long run.

The points are:

1. A logistics corridor across Europe and Asia.

2. A “silk road e-commerce zone”, with more free-trade agreements and investment treaties.

3. A US$47.8 billion financing pledge from Chinese development banks.

4. A push for green development.

5. Pledges on scientific development and artificial intelligence.

6. More cultural and people-to-people exchanges, including a tourism alliance.

7. More “clean cooperation” to improve transparency.

8. Efforts to establish belt and road institutions including a secretariat.

Wrapping up from Xi

As his speech came to a close, Xi said China hoped to deepen Belt and Road cooperation, embrace a higher volume of high-level development, promote the modernisation of more countries, create more openness and interconnection, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

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