President unveils major steps China will take to support joint building of Belt and Road; outcomes of forum highlighted

President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. WANG YE / XINHUA

China will set up financing windows totaling 700 billion yuan ($95.8 billion) through two development banks to support projects involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, while an additional 80 billion yuan will be injected into the Silk Road Fund to promote BRI cooperation, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday.

Xi made the remarks in a keynote speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. To carry out practical cooperation, he said that the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China will each set up a 350 billion-yuan financing window. "Together, they will support BRI projects on the basis of market and business operation."

More than 20 heads of state and government and senior government representatives as well as heads of international organizations were present at the event. Xi said that cooperation agreements worth $97.2 billion had been concluded at the CEO Conference held during the forum.

In his speech, Xi called for deepening high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to build an open, inclusive and interconnected world for shared growth, and he warned against "unilateral sanctions, economic coercion and decoupling, and supply chain disruption".

He announced eight major steps that China will take to support joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, including efforts to build a multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network, support an open world economy, promote green development and advance scientific and technological innovation.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI. Xi lauded the development of Belt and Road cooperation in the past decade, saying that a global network of connectivity consisting of economic corridors, international transportation routes and an information highway has boosted the flow of goods, capital, technologies and human resources among countries involved in the BRI.

Xi and foreign leaders walk into the venue for the opening ceremony. WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY

More than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations have signed Belt and Road cooperation documents. Based on the principle of "planning together, building together and benefiting together", Belt and Road cooperation has extended from the Eurasian region to Africa and Latin America.

It transcends differences between civilizations, cultures, social systems and stages of development, and has opened up a new path for exchanges and cooperation among countries, Xi said.

While calling for promoting win-win cooperation, Xi urged countries taking the lead in economic development to give a hand to their partners who are yet to catch up.

"We should all treat each other as friends and partners, respect and support each other, and help each other succeed," he said. "Viewing others' development as a threat or taking economic interdependence as a risk will not make one's own life better or speed up one's development."

Xi emphasized that the BRI aims to promote connectivity, mutual benefit and common development. "Ideological confrontation, geopolitical rivalry and bloc politics are not a choice for us."

As part of its efforts to expand opening-up, China will establish pilot zones for Silk Road e-commerce cooperation and enter into free trade agreements and investment protection treaties with more countries, Xi said. "We will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector," he added.

China will further advance high-standard opening-up in cross-border service trade and investment, expand market access for digital and other products, and deepen reform in areas including the digital economy, intellectual property and government procurement, the president said.

He noted that China will hold the Global Digital Trade Expo annually. "In the next five years, China's total trade in goods and services is expected to exceed $32 trillion and $5 trillion, respectively."

A total of 458 outcomes were delivered during the forum, including a series of international cooperation initiatives and an array of cooperation agreements, according to a statement issued after the event.

Among them, China also put forward the Global Initiative for Artificial Intelligence Governance to promote sound, orderly and secure AI development, the statement said.

Speaking at a news conference after the forum on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi highlighted the outcomes of the forum.

He said that these demonstrate that peaceful development and win-win cooperation conform to the general trend of the times and people's aspirations, while Cold War confrontation and decoupling are against the tide of history and are doomed to fail.

Zhou Jin contributed to this story.

Xi's quotes

Humankind is a community with a shared future. China can only do well when the world is doing well. When China does well, the world will get even better.

Both Chinese investment overseas and foreign investment in China have boosted friendship, cooperation, confidence and hope.

The Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit is the most important source of strength for Belt and Road cooperation.

The pioneers of the ancient silk routes won their place in history not as conquerors with warships, guns, horses or swords. Rather, they are remembered as friendly emissaries leading camel caravans and sailing ships loaded with goods.