Chairman’s Statement of the Third ＂Belt and Road＂ International Cooperation Summit Forum (full text)

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 18th

Chairman’s Statement of the Third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum

October 18, 2023, Beijing

????foreword

1. On October 18th, 2023, the third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum was held in Beijing. Supreme Leader of President People’s Republic of China (PRC), Argentine President Fernandez, Chilean President Boric, Republic of Congo President Sassou, Indonesian President Joko, Kazakh President Tokayev, Kenyan President Ruto, Lao president Tong Lun, Mongolian President Huzhle Surh, Russian President Putin, Serbian President Vucic, Sri Lankan President Vikramasinha, Ku Berdymukhamedov, national leader of Turkmenistan and chairman of the People’s Committee, Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, Wu Wenshang, president of Viet Nam, Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, Madbouli, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, Prime Minister Malaane of Mozambique, Prime Minister Kakkar of Pakistan, Prime Minister Malapei of Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Seta of Thailand, Vice President Chetima of Nigeria and UN Secretary-General Guterres attended the meeting. High-level representatives of leaders from France, United Arab Emirates and Greece attended the meeting. Representatives from more than 150 countries attended the meeting. The Chairman of the Supreme Leader delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

2. The theme of the summit forum is "Building the Belt and Road with high quality and working together to achieve common development and prosperity". During the forum, three high-level forums were held, the topics were: (1) deepening interconnection and building an open world economy; (two) to build a green Silk Road and promote the harmonious coexistence between man and nature; (3) Developing the digital economy and tapping new kinetic energy for economic growth. During the forum, six special forums were held to discuss smooth trade, maritime cooperation, clean silk road, think tank exchange, people’s hearts, local cooperation and so on. Before the opening of the forum, the "Belt and Road" entrepreneur conference was held.

3. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. In the past 10 years, the "Belt and Road" cooperation network has extended from the Eurasian continent to Africa and Latin America, and more than 150 countries, more than 30 international organizations and China have signed the "Belt and Road" cooperation document. China held three "One Belt, One Road" international cooperation summit forums, and established multilateral dialogue and cooperation platforms with partners in more than 20 fields, including railways, ports, finance, taxation, energy, green development, green investment, disaster reduction, anti-corruption, think tanks, media and culture.

4. In the past 10 years, the "Belt and Road Initiative" has taken interconnection as the main line, promoted the construction of an interconnection network with economic corridors as the guide, large passages and information superhighways as the skeleton, railways, ports and pipe networks as the support, covering land, sea, sky and internet, and promoted the circulation of goods, capital, technology and personnel in various countries. China has cooperated with all parties to carry out more than 3,000 practical projects, which has attracted nearly $1 trillion in investment.

5. All parties believe that the Belt and Road Initiative inherits the Silk Road spirit of peaceful cooperation, openness and tolerance, mutual learning and mutual learning, mutual benefit and win-win, adheres to the principles of cooperation, openness, green and clean, high standards and sustainable development for the benefit of the people, and promotes policy communication, facility connectivity, smooth trade, financial intermediation and popular support among countries, providing impetus for world economic growth, building a platform for international economic cooperation and opening up space for global common development.

6. All parties look forward to continuing to strengthen cooperation, pushing the Belt and Road Initiative into a new stage of high-quality development, making greater contributions to promoting international cooperation, promoting global economic growth, accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and jointly opening up a bright future of peace, development, cooperation and win-win.

Main achievements of the summit forum

7. At the opening ceremony of the Summit Forum, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader announced eight actions of China to support the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, as follows:

(1) Building a "Belt and Road" three-dimensional interconnection network. China will accelerate the high-quality development of China-Europe trains, participate in the construction of trans-Caspian international transport corridors, run the China-Europe international cooperation forum well, and build a new logistics channel between Asia and Europe supported by direct railway and highway transportation with all parties. Actively promote the integrated development of "Silk Road Shipping" port and shipping trade, and accelerate the construction of new land and sea passages and the Silk Road in the air.

(2) Support the construction of an open world economy. China will create a pioneer zone for "Silk Road E-commerce" cooperation and sign free trade agreements and investment protection agreements with more countries. Completely cancel the restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector. Take the initiative to follow the international high-standard economic and trade rules, deepen the high-level opening of cross-border service trade and investment, expand market access for digital products, and deepen reforms in the fields of state-owned enterprises, digital economy, intellectual property rights, and government procurement. China will hold the "Global Digital Trade Expo" every year. In the next five years (2024-2028), the import and export volume of China’s trade in goods and services is expected to exceed US$ 32 trillion and US$ 5 trillion.

(3) Carry out pragmatic cooperation. China will make overall plans to promote landmark projects and "small but beautiful" livelihood projects. China National Development Bank and The Export-Import Bank of China will each set up a financing window of RMB 350 billion, and Silk Road Fund will add RMB 80 billion to support the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" project in a market-oriented and commercial way. The entrepreneurs’ meeting held during this summit reached a project cooperation agreement of 97.2 billion US dollars. China will also implement 1,000 small-scale livelihood assistance projects, promote Sino-foreign vocational education cooperation through Luban Workshop, and strengthen the "One Belt, One Road" project and personnel safety guarantee with all parties.

(4) Promote green development. China will continue to deepen cooperation in the fields of green infrastructure, green energy and green transportation, increase support for the Belt and Road International Alliance for Green Development, continue to hold the Belt and Road Green Innovation Conference, and build a dialogue and exchange mechanism for photovoltaic industry and a green and low-carbon expert network. Implement the principle of "One Belt, One Road" green investment, and carry out 100,000 person-times training for partner countries by 2030.

(5) Promoting scientific and technological innovation. China will continue to implement the "One Belt, One Road" scientific and technological innovation action plan, hold the first "One Belt, One Road" scientific and technological exchange conference, expand the number of joint laboratories jointly established with all parties to 100 in the next five years, and support young scientists from all countries to come to China for short-term work. China will propose a global artificial intelligence governance initiative at this forum, and is willing to strengthen exchanges and dialogues with other countries to jointly promote the healthy, orderly and safe development of global artificial intelligence.

(6) Support people-to-people exchanges. China will hold the "Liangzhu Forum" to deepen the civilized dialogue with countries that have jointly built the "Belt and Road". On the basis of the established Silk Road International Theatre, Art Festival, Museum, Art Gallery and Library Alliance, the Silk Road Tourism City Alliance was established. Continue to implement the "Silk Road" China government scholarship program.

(7) Building a clean road. China will work with partners to release the Effectiveness and Prospect of the Clean and Honest Construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, launch the Advanced Principles of the Clean and Honest Construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, establish a clean and compliant evaluation system for enterprises in the Belt and Road Initiative, and cooperate with international organizations to carry out clean and honest research and training.

(8) Improve the "Belt and Road" international cooperation mechanism. China will strengthen the construction of multilateral cooperation platforms in the fields of energy, taxation, finance, green development, disaster reduction, anti-corruption, think tanks, media and culture with countries that have jointly built the "Belt and Road". Continue to hold the "Belt and Road" international cooperation summit forum and set up the summit forum secretariat.

8. During the Summit Forum, 458 outcomes were achieved, including: (1) All parties launched a series of international cooperation initiatives and decided to hold a series of international conferences, and the Chairman summarized and formed a list of multilateral cooperation outcome documents (Annex I). (2) Governments, financial institutions, local governments and enterprises have agreed on a series of pragmatic cooperation projects and bilateral cooperation agreements, and the Chairman has compiled a list of pragmatic cooperation projects (Annex II).

Discussion at the high-level forum

9. At the high-level forum, the participants had in-depth discussions on cooperation in the fields of interconnection, digital economy and green development. The main points are as follows:

(1) Deepening interconnection and building an open world economy

Infrastructure is the cornerstone of interconnection, and strengthening interconnection is conducive to helping countries better integrate into global supply chains, industrial chains and value chains. Countries need to build and maintain high-quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and should ensure that the infrastructure is feasible, affordable, inclusive and widely beneficial throughout the whole cycle. Multilateral development banks and national financial institutions are welcome to provide more financial support for infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships, mixed financing and other financial instruments.

Strengthening cooperation in the fields of transportation, energy resources, water conservancy, information and communication facilities will help to improve the all-round and compound interconnection network, develop mutually compatible and multimodal transportation, and continuously improve the level of international transportation facilitation and the resilience of international transportation corridors. Encourage international cooperation in infrastructure rules, regulations and standards, promote the formation of universally recognized rules and standards and best practices, and improve the level of "soft connectivity". China and relevant participants jointly issued the Beijing Initiative for Deepening Interconnection and Cooperation.

(B) build a green Silk Road to promote the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

All parties recalled the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and supported the joint efforts to build the Green Silk Road and realize the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Taking climate action and coping with climate change should follow the principles of fairness, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. The "Belt and Road" partners support strengthening cooperation in the fields of biodiversity protection and pollution control, circular economy, green infrastructure, green transportation, desertification and sandstorm prevention, and encourage the development of effective green financial tools. The "Belt and Road" International Alliance for Green Development and its partners launched a green development investment and financing partnership to provide adequate, predictable and sustainable financing for the green development of developing countries. China and relevant participants jointly issued the Beijing Initiative for Green Development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

(3) Develop the digital economy and tap new kinetic energy for economic growth.

Narrowing the "digital divide" will help make the achievements of the digital economy benefit the people. We should create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory digital development environment, and build a digital Silk Road with co-construction and sharing of digital resources, dynamic digital economy, accurate and efficient digital governance, strong digital security guarantee and mutual benefit and win-win digital cooperation.

The "Belt and Road" partners support the construction and improvement of information infrastructure such as regional communication, Internet and satellite navigation. Support the deep integration of digital technology with the real economy, promote the practical exchanges of digital transformation in manufacturing, agriculture, retail, education, medical care, health care, tourism and professional services, deepen the innovative applications of blockchain, artificial intelligence and other technologies in finance, shipping, commerce, culture and other fields, and strive to achieve a more inclusive, empowering, sustainable, resilient and innovation-driven digital transformation. Support the strengthening of international governance in cyberspace and exchanges and cooperation in the field of cyber rule of law.

During the summit forum, China put forward the Global Initiative on Artificial Intelligence Governance, calling on countries to strengthen information exchange and technical cooperation in artificial intelligence governance, jointly prevent risks, form an artificial intelligence framework and standards with broad consensus, and continuously improve the safety, reliability, controllability and fairness of artificial intelligence technology. China and relevant participants jointly issued the "Beijing Initiative for International Cooperation in Digital Economy".

Discussion in thematic forum

X. At the special forum, the participants expressed the following views.

(A) to promote the smooth flow of trade

All parties support the WTO-centered, rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, just and transparent multilateral trading system and oppose unilateralism and protectionist measures. Support the necessary reform of the WTO and realize that multilateral trade rules keep pace with the times.

The "Belt and Road" partners agreed to further improve the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, support cooperation in customs clearance facilitation and law enforcement, especially promote international mutual recognition of "certified operators", "single window" of international trade, digitalization of international trade documents, digitalization of shipping trade, cross-border e-commerce supervision and innovation, and cooperate in the field of inspection and quarantine of agricultural and food products. Support the optimization of the business environment, protect the rights and interests of investors according to law, improve the multi-bilateral economic and trade cooperation mechanism, jointly safeguard the stability of the industrial chain supply chain, deepen two-way investment, strengthen cooperation in key industries, and support the WTO to reach the Agreement on Investment Facilitation. Encourage tripartite or multi-party market cooperation. Recognizing the impact of taxation on cross-border investment, we agreed to expand the network of tax agreements and strengthen tax cooperation, especially under the framework of the "Belt and Road" tax collection and management cooperation mechanism. China will support the construction of international cooperation zones in service trade where conditions permit, and the high-quality construction of free trade pilot zones and Hainan free trade ports. China and relevant participants jointly issued the International Economic and Trade Cooperation Framework Initiative for Digital Economy and Green Development.

(2) Strengthening maritime cooperation.

The ocean is increasingly becoming the "blue engine" of world economic development. We should support the development, transformation and upgrading of marine industry based on clean production, green technology and circular economy, and develop a sustainable, resilient and inclusive blue economy. Encourage innovation in blue economic and financial platforms, products, standards and service systems, give play to the role of blue bonds, insurance, funds and other tools, and improve the investment and financing environment of blue industries.

The "Belt and Road" partners support the promotion of sustainable utilization of marine resources and strengthen cooperation in marine biodiversity protection, marine ecosystem protection and restoration, and marine response to climate change. Deepen cooperation in marine science and technology, share knowledge and achievements of marine sustainable development, and promote the docking and technology transfer of marine technical standards system. Provide marine public services, promote the construction of key infrastructure on the seabed, establish a cooperation mechanism for marine disaster prevention and mitigation, and jointly build a marine disaster early warning and reporting system for key sea areas. China and relevant participants jointly released the "Belt and Road" Blue Cooperation Initiative.

(3) Building a Clean Silk Road

Integrity is an important guarantee for the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road" and there should be zero tolerance for corruption. We call for comprehensive and efficient international cooperation in the fields of chasing after victims, anti-bribery and anti-money laundering in accordance with the laws and regulations of various countries and the obligations of various countries under international conventions such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption and relevant bilateral treaties, and refuse to provide safe havens for corrupt criminals and their assets.

China and its partners have issued the Achievements and Prospects of the Clean and Honest Construction of the Belt and Road and the Advanced Principles of the Clean and Honest Construction of the Belt and Road. They believe that the clean and honest construction of the Belt and Road has achieved remarkable results, and put forward the cooperation principles of discussing clean partnership, building a clean business environment and sharing the fruits of clean development. Support the promotion of a clean culture, strengthen the awareness of self-discipline, law and responsibility of enterprises, and establish a clean and compliance evaluation system for "Belt and Road" enterprises. Strengthen academic exchanges and cooperation in the field of anti-corruption, and increase the training of "One Belt, One Road" clean construction personnel. Encourage the conclusion of extradition treaties, criminal judicial assistance treaties and anti-corruption cooperation agreements. The special forum on the clean silk road published the chairman’s summary.

(D) Strengthen the exchange of think tanks

Academics have taken note of the white paper "Building the Belt and Road Together: A Major Practice in Building a Community of Human Destiny" published by China, the report "Belt and Road Development" published by the national high-end think tank of Xinhua News Agency during this summit forum, and the "Belt and Road" research report published by the World Bank, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN ESCAP and the Advisory Committee of the Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum. The above report pointed out that the "Belt and Road" will promote the reduction of global trade costs, help global poverty reduction, and contribute to the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Think tanks in various countries have provided important intellectual support for building the "Belt and Road" with high quality. We should strengthen cooperation, promote the sharing of information, resources and research results, and form more objective and fair research results and operational policy suggestions.

All parties support think tanks, experts and scholars to give full play to their respective professional advantages and jointly explore the practical path and future direction of the "Belt and Road" through joint research. Think tanks in various countries are encouraged to carry out the "Belt and Road" theme activities, strengthen academic exchanges through forums, seminars and study visits, expand cooperation networks, share the latest research results, and continuously enrich the content and depth of the "Belt and Road" research. Support think tanks, media and social organizations to further strengthen public communication on the "Belt and Road", effectively deal with false news and misunderstandings about the "Belt and Road", and enhance people’s understanding of the "Belt and Road". The think tank exchange forum released the "Initiative on Strengthening the" Belt and Road "International Think Tank Cooperation.

(5) Enhance the common feelings of the people.

The common aspiration of the people is an important foundation for building the "Belt and Road". We should uphold the concept of civilization of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and tolerance, transcend the gap between civilizations with civilized exchange, transcend the conflict of civilizations with civilized mutual learning, transcend the superiority of civilizations with civilized tolerance, and constantly enhance mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual appreciation among people of all countries and different cultures and civilizations, and jointly build a global network of dialogue and cooperation among civilizations.

The "Belt and Road" partners encourage political parties, parliaments, non-governmental organizations, media, think tanks, business circles and other people from all walks of life to play a greater role in building people’s hearts, and look forward to further exchanges and cooperation in the fields of art, culture, education, science and technology, tourism, health and sports.

The Chinese side issued the Joint Initiative of "Silk Road and Heart Connected", which will implement the "One Belt, One Road" youth elite plan, set up the "One Belt, One Road" public welfare fund and implement the "Silk Road and Heart Connected" action.

(6) Carry out local cooperation.

Folk friendship is rooted in the place and originated from the people. Local governments, especially sister cities, are an important force to promote the empathy of partner citizens. Encourage all parties to adhere to the people-centered development concept, strengthen exchanges between relevant local governments and sister cities, deepen pragmatic cooperation, and work together to turn friendly relations into fruitful results that benefit their respective people.

The "Belt and Road" partners support the construction of local cooperation platforms, actively promote local governments with strong economic complementarities and high industrial convergence to conclude more friendly partnerships, give full play to their respective advantages in industrial structure and resource endowment, and strive to promote mutually beneficial cooperation in priority areas such as poverty alleviation and development, urban governance, digital economy, green innovation and development, and capacity building to promote common development. Continue to deepen local cultural exchanges, and constantly expand and consolidate the interest base and social public opinion base of friendly relations. The thematic forum on local cooperation issued a presidential statement.

Situation of entrepreneurs’ meeting

XI. To jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative, adhere to the principles of government guidance, enterprise as the main body and market operation. The Belt and Road Entrepreneur Conference held during the summit forum issued the Beijing Declaration of the Belt and Road Entrepreneur Conference. The industrial and commercial circles of all countries reiterated that they will adhere to open cooperation, strengthen pragmatic cooperation in interconnection, green development, digital economy and other fields, adhere to compliance management, actively fulfill their social responsibilities, and contribute more industrial and commercial forces to jointly build the "Belt and Road" with high quality.

Next step

12. The Belt and Road partners will jointly implement the results of this summit forum, continue to promote the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthen the docking of their respective development plans with the Belt and Road Initiative, further promote the "hard connectivity" of infrastructure, "soft connectivity" of rules and standards, and "heart connectivity" of people of all countries, and make contributions to promoting the recovery of the world economy and implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Annex I: List of multilateral cooperation outcome documents of the Third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum

Annex II: List of Practical Cooperation Projects of the Third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum