BEIJING: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will figure prominently at the 2nd Belt and Road Forum (BRF) that started its proceedings here on Thursday.
The CPEC is to serve as a model of Belt and Road Initiative, and China wishes to mention it while projecting its sincerity and commitment in pushing forward the concept of international cooperation for mutual benefit, reports Chinese media.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s presence at the forum will add to the importance of the CPEC among the participants coming around the world. He might avail the opportunity to apprise the BRF about the efficient working of the CPEC, that is a pilot and major project of the World’s connectivity plan.
According to the media’s report, after six years of development, the Belt and Road Initiative has grown into one of the most promising platforms for international cooperation, with solid progress and a shifting focus on high-quality development.
A total of 126 countries, including developed and developing nations, and 29 international organizations have signed cooperation documents with China on the initiative. With the support of Chinese businesses, industrial parks built in other Belt and Road countries have generated nearly 300,000 local jobs.
“The initiative has become the most popular public goods and an international cooperation platform with the most promising prospects,” Silk Road Fund president Wang Yanzhi said in an interview with Xinhua.
It is a new model of globalization that highlights balanced and inclusive development, said Shi Zhiqin, executive director of the Institute of the Belt and Road Initiative at Tsinghua University. “It is also a new form of multilateralism and a supplement to the APEC and G20.”
The initiative is being embraced by more and more countries and translated into concrete dividends of globalization, he said.
More countries are welcomed. As State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, the initiative is open to every country.
A cooperation platform originating from Eurasia, extending to more continents, the Belt and Road Initiative has shown broad prospects and enormous potential.
With all its outcomes, observers expected the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), scheduled to open Thursday, to be of landmark significance and add fresh impetus to the initiative.
The theme of the second BRF is “Belt and Road Cooperation, Shaping a Brighter Shared Future.” Wang Yi said the main purpose is to promote the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation, which is the common aspiration of countries participating in the initiative.
Wang said high-quality development of the initiative should prioritize promoting the common development of all participating countries, sticking to people-centered approach, taking into account the actual needs of all parties and aligning with international rules and best practices.
The Belt and Road will become a road of peace, prosperity, opening up, green development, innovation, connected civilizations, and clean government. It will make economic globalization become more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all,” according to a BRI’s report published Thursday.
