High-Quality Joint Construction of the "Belt and Road"
— Opening Speech at the Roundtable Summit of the Second "Belt and Road" International Cooperation High-level Forum
(April 27, 2019, Beijing)
President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping
Respected heads of state, government leaders, and heads of international organizations:
I now declare the opening of the second "Belt and Road" International Cooperation High-level Forum Roundtable Summit!
In May 2017, I, along with many leaders present here, held the first summit roundtable and issued a joint communiqué. We established the objectives, principles, and measures for jointly building the "Belt and Road," achieving numerous concrete results.
Over the past two years, adhering to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, we have comprehensively promoted policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bonds, injecting new momentum into world economic growth and opening up new space for global development.
We hold this summit forum again with the hope that together with all parties, we will draw a detailed and meticulous "fine brushwork painting," allowing the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" to go deeper and become more substantive, better benefiting the peoples of all countries.
First, we look forward to working with all parties to refine our cooperation concept and focus on high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road." We need to put into practice the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, ensuring broad-based participation, leveraging respective strengths, and benefiting all involved. We should adhere to open, green, and clean governance, pursuing high standards, people's well-being, and sustainability. We should integrate supporting the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into the joint construction of the "Belt and Road," aligning with internationally recognized rules, standards, and best practices, and coordinate the advancement of economic growth, social development, and environmental protection, ensuring that all countries benefit and achieve common development.
Second, we look forward to working with all parties to define the key areas of cooperation and focus on enhancing comprehensive connectivity. We should continue to focus on infrastructure connectivity. We need to deepen cooperation in cutting-edge areas such as smart manufacturing and the digital economy, implementing innovation-driven development strategies. We should expand market openness and improve the facilitation of trade and investment, ensuring smooth flows. We need to build a diversified financing system and multi-level capital markets. We should conduct rich and varied cultural exchanges and implement more livelihood cooperation projects. In short, we must create comprehensive connectivity and promote an integrated effect of infrastructure leading, industrial agglomeration, economic development, and livelihood improvement.
Third, we look forward to working with all parties to strengthen cooperation mechanisms and focus on building a connectivity partnership. We must jointly promote the construction of an open world economy, oppose protectionism, and continue to effectively align and enhance synergy between the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and the development strategies of various countries, regional and international development agendas. Through various forms such as bilateral cooperation, trilateral cooperation, and multilateral cooperation, we encourage more countries and enterprises to participate deeply and enlarge the cake of common interests. We should advance the construction of the "Belt and Road" mechanisms in the spirit of multilateralism, providing a solid guarantee for practical cooperation in various fields.
I believe that with the joint efforts of everyone, today's meeting will surely converge more consensus, achieve more results, and promote the international cooperation of jointly building the "Belt and Road" to create more well-being for the peoples of all countries and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind. (End)
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