Expanding Circle of Friends

Pan Yingqiu

“Over three years have passed since I put forward the Belt and Road Initiative （BRI），” declared Chinese President Xi Jinping in his keynote speech at the opening session of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 in Davos. “Since then， over 100 countries and international organizations have warmly welcomed and offered support to the initiative. More than 40 countries and international organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China， and our circle of friends along the Belt and Road is growing bigger.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi echoed his sentiments， saying， “Chinas circle of friends is growing bigger as we continue adding good friends and good partners.”

“Circle of friends” is a concept that has become popular on WeChat， a Chinese social media app. The cooperation platform of the Belt and Road keeps a similar circle of friends informed with daily updates on the progress and achievements. Within this circle， China has worked with partners along the route to share ideas， document action and consolidate friendship.

Broad Circle of Friends

Five years ago， Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered two speeches to launch the Belt and Road circle of friends. On September 7， 2013， President Xi delivered a speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana， Kazakhstan. He said： “To forge closer economic ties， deepen cooperation and expand development space in the Eurasian region， we should take an innovative approach and jointly build an economic belt along the Silk Road. To turn this vision into reality， we can start in specific areas and connect them over time until they cover the whole region.” Barely a month later， President Xi delivered another speech at the Peoples Representative Council of Indonesia. “China will strengthen maritime cooperation with the ASEAN countries，” he pledged. “The China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund set up by the Chinese government should be used to develop maritime partnerships for joint efforts to build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.”

Within the circle of friends along the Belt and Road， China has improved its position and resolved lingering doubts， both bilateral and multilateral， on many occasions. The vision of the BRI has gradually become reality on the ground and has attracted more and more attention from Chinas friends around the world as well as sincere support from people along the route.

U Khin Maung Lynn， joint secretary of Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies （MYANMAR-ISIS）， noted that President Xi Jinpings important speeches helped him gain a more in-depth understanding of the BRI. “The BRI has improved the global governance system with new ideas and plans，” he commented. “Meanwhile， it has highlighted the importance of all countries of the world working together to develop the global economy.”

Sincere intentions have helped this circle of friends expand easily and frequently. Since the BRI was proposed， China has confirmed participation consensus through joint statements with many countries including the ASEAN member states of Thailand， Cambodia， Laos， Myanmar and Indonesia.

On March 28， 2015， Chinas National Development and Reform Commission， Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce jointly issued Vision and Proposed Actions Outlined on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， an eight-part statement intended to elaborate on Chinas position on the BRI in realms such as background， principles， framework， priorities and mechanisms.

Chinas friends have appreciated the action-heavy initiative. Implementation has produced positive results in several ASEAN countries. All major projects such as the China-Thailand Railway， China-Laos Railway， Jakarta-Bandung Railway， Kyaukpyu Deep Water Port and Industrial Zone in Myanmar， Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone （SSEZ） in Cambodia， a port and its development zone in Indonesia and Rayong Industrial Zone in Thailand are making steady progress.

From Vision to Reality

China has invested a lot of efforts to build the circle of friends along the Belt and Road. Then， how did the circle of friends transform the Belt and Road vision into reality？

The circle of friends along the Belt and Road has been a stabilizer for world peace and development. Peace and stability are the main pillars of todays society. The BRI is in essence an initiative fostering cooperation rather than a geopolitical tool. Its major aims are promoting mutual understanding among people and establishing common goals.

In a short period of five years， the BRI has received support from many countries， not only countries and regions along the route， but also those from around the world. It has promoted global peace and development as a beneficial complement and constructive improvement to existing global and regional governance mechanisms. It has made an important contribution to safeguarding world peace and promoting world development.

Kobsak Pootrakool， Thai Minister Attached to the Office of the Prime Minister， believes that the BRI has brought considerable hope and opportunities to countries along the route over the last five years. With a population of about 800 million and geographic proximity to China， Southeast Asia is considered one of the best and most important development regions for the BRI in the next 20 years. Pootrakool pointed out that Thailands neighbors have seen robust economic growth in recent years， mostly at 6.5 to 8 percent annually. Thailands economy is also expected to grow by 5 percent next year. In a relatively good economic environment， Thailand should further seize development opportunities afforded by the Belt and Road and give full play to its geographical advantages to make the country an important international transportation and logistics hub.

“In pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative， we will not resort to outdated geopolitical maneuvering，” promised President Xi at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on May 14， 2017， “We hope to achieve a new model of win-win cooperation. We have no intention of forming a small group detrimental to stability—what we hope to create is a big family of harmonious co-existence.”

“Amity among the people is the key to good state-to-state relations， and mutual understanding is essential to fostering amity among peoples.” The purpose of the BRI is to build a win-win partnership network through consultation to ensure the interests of all are met， which cannot happen without the understanding， recognition and support of the people along the route. The BRI adopts a holistic approach to pursuing the common interests of China and other countries as well as their respective unique interests and concerns. The development strategies of different countries have been aligned to foster a regional framework of open， inclusive， balanced and mutually beneficial cooperation.

The BRI has brought tangible benefits to countries along the route. The initiative is not Chinas solo， but a symphony performed by all participating countries， with an aim to promote trade and investment and facilitate connectivity and industrialization for common development and outcomes sharing.

Tangible Benefits

Through pragmatic cooperation， efficient allocation of resources and unleashing the potential of the countries along the route， the BRI has largely promoted policy coordination， facilities connectivity， unimpeded trade， financial integration and people-to-people bonds. Not only is it bringing tangible economic benefits to the countries along the route and their people， but it is also laying a solid foundation for closer cooperation in other fields. Furthermore， it will create a favorable atmosphere and conditions for participants to amicably solve outstanding problems.

More than 80 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones have been built by China and the countries along the route， which has created hundreds of thousands of jobs. Meanwhile， comprehensive progress has been made on many cooperative projects， which have played a positive role in promoting the economic and social development of host countries. Ultimately， the BRI won widespread international endorsement and support simply by recognizing the urgent desire of all countries to achieve prosperity and development to facilitate their peoples aspirations for better lives and common development.

At present， most of the 279 outcomes of the First Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation have been completed or institutionalized. Key projects and demonstration projects have been launched. In the view of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres， the Belt and Road is an initiative to convince people that it is possible to “leave no one behind” in the process of economic development.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak reported that steady progress has been made on the construction of railways from China to Laos and Thailand. The BRI has become the driving force for cooperation among countries and the kindling for economic and social development in every involved country.

“Thailand hopes to benefit more from Chinas support for further development，” said Jatusripitak. He thinks that developing countries such as Thailand should study and learn from Chinas development experience. The current Thai government has learned from China and other countries on strengthening infrastructure for transportation and information technology. Meanwhile， it has been attaching great importance to economic development and reform， including industrial upgrading.

Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez discussed how the Philippine government is implementing the “Build， Build， Build” infrastructure program. It is ready to strengthen its cooperation with China within the framework of the BRI. The two sides are now working on the Kaliwa Dam Project， the Iloilo-Guimaras-Negros Bridge and the Davao-Samal Bridge. Dominguez believes that completion of these projects will improve the connectivity of his country and benefit its people.

From Rough Sketch to Intricate Plans

“The BRI has completed a general layout over the last five years， a sort of ‘a rough sketch，” illustrated President Xi at a meeting marking the 5th anniversary of the BRI， “What we have to do now is to focus on the key points and fine details that go into ‘an intricate painting.” How will that be done？

Qian Keming， Vice Minister of Commerce of China， provided some answers at a press conference on the the progress and prospects of the BRI organized by the State Council Information Office on August 27， 2018.

The first step will be ensuring the success of the First China International Import Expo （CIIE）. The expo will become an open platform for all countries to demonstrate their achievements in development and cooperate in international trade. It will be an international public product to promote the Belt and Road and economic globalization. It will also be a landmark project for China to promote a new round of high-level opening to the outside world.

The second is to innovate methods of trade and investment cooperation， including cooperation on major projects along the route as well as cooperation on innovation in fields of e-commerce， big data， cloud computing and artificial intelligence to apply the latest modern technology in the construction of the Belt and Road.

The third is accelerating construction of open platforms including pilot free trade zones， free trade ports in Hainan Province， cross-border economic cooperation zones and overseas economic cooperation zones.

The fourth is promoting regional and sub-regional economic integration. China is ready to work with the countries and regions along the route to build high-standard pilot free trade zones to forge large market potential in those areas.

Finally， efforts will be made to implement important measures for further opening to the outside world， especially the management system for pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list， protection of IP， implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation and compatibility in customs clearance procedures along the route.

Five years of practice have widened the circle of friends along the Belt and Road to transcend geographical boundaries， developmental stages and civilizations. It has remained an open and inclusive cooperation platform and a global public product created by all relevant parties. The BRI has become a huge cooperation platform for common development of all countries concerned.

Over the last five years， construction of the Belt and Road has made solid progress in the direction of peace， prosperity， openness， innovation and civilization， injecting a strong and lasting impetus for construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.

With a solid foundation laid， construction of the Belt and Road has reached a stage of sustainable quality development. It will focus on key projects and fine details to produce more benefits for the people living in all countries along the route.