Belt and Road Initiative is one of most important initiatives in 21st century
Robert
Lawrence Kuhn
The Belt
and Road Initiative is one of the most important initiatives of the 21st
century. Nothing is more important for world peace and prosperity than building
much-needed infrastructure in the developing world, especially in the poorest
countries.
A priority
of the Belt and Road Initiative is to plan, finance, construct and operate
critical infrastructure — roads, railways, airports, ports, power plants,
telecommunications. No country in the world has China’s experience in building
such infrastructure, so Belt and Road projects are naturally suited for win-win
cooperation, within the framework of “achieving shared growth through
discussion and collaboration.”
As China
continues to transform and restructure its economy, it needs high-quality
growth of the country’s manufacturing industries. By leveraging this domestic
expertise, it is of great significance for China to develop new modes of
globalization.
Infrastructure
construction seems ideal, which is just what China is experienced in and what
developing countries need to kick-start their economies. This is the essence of
win-win: mutual benefits make Belt and Road cooperation sustainable.
From the
very beginning of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping has
stressed “achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration.” This
guiding principle reflects China’s overarching policy of seeking win-win in
international cooperation and in maintaining equal relations with all
countries.
Today,
in our new complex international environment, China’s principle of “shared
growth through discussion and collaboration” takes on even greater
significance.
“Discussion and collaboration” can
ensure the quality of Belt and Road Initiative projects. It is only through
detailed discussions and sophisticated collaboration that optimal project
structure and operations can be achieved, and this is especially relevant for
infrastructural construction. Key, of course, is to match loan servicing
schedules, interest and principal, with reasonably conservative forecasted
revenues directly or indirectly generated by the project, which can include
national or regional economic growth.
One
aspect of China wisdom is that learning from the past can improve the future.
Some developing countries may not be experienced in structuring the financing
for large infrastructure projects. Thus, in the project planning discussions,
China, which has much experience, can advise and bring “best practices” to the
project. Again, this is the benefit of “discussion and collaboration”.
“Shared growth” means that Belt
and Road cooperation takes win-win as essence and pursues common development of
all involved sides. Over the past five years, a series of successful projects
under the Belt and Road framework have generated new opportunities for the
economic and social development of host countries.
Best is
to take “shared growth” seriously: what is shared is what is had by both sides.
For host countries, infrastructure enables and stimulates economic growth.
China also reaps more development opportunities, such as diversification of
trade, and opens the doors of its inland provinces wider.
By
boosting (over time) the economies of developing countries, China benefits from
increasing trade, as does the entirety of the world. Belt and Road cooperation
is an initiative seeking mutual benefit, win-win result and common growth.
From the
world’s perspective, poverty, under-development, and deep inequalities are
seemingly intractable problems — and economic development, catalyzed by infrastructure
construction, is an essential part of the solutions. Economic development must
come first, then all other problems can be addressed. Nothing good can happen
without economic growth — this is the essence of the Chinese experience.
From
China’s perspective, after decades of remarkable growth, economic
transformation is necessary, and this includes industrial transitioning and
geographical rebalancing within China and expanding China’s opening up by
enhancing globalization. All of these can be achieved by the Belt and Road
Initiative.
There
are substantial global challenges, of course – economic, financial, structural,
ecological, political instability, political risk, nationalism, terrorism.
What’s sure is that the world has great need and China has a grand plan.
(Robert
Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, is a recipient of the China
Reform Friendship Medal)
Belt and Road Initiative is one of most important initiatives in 21st century
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