Source: China Daily    Published: 2016-1-5

 

One key task in China`s diplomatic efforts in 2015 is to comprehensively promote the Belt and Road Initiative strategy. During President Xi Jinping`s overseas visits this year, countries and regions along the route were invited to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and agreements were signed and many major projects are already making steady progress.

 

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 21, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Visit to Pakistan

April 20-21

President Xi called for the formulation of a strategic framework for bilateral practical cooperation, with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at the center.

The CPEC is a 3,000-km network of roads, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas from southern Pakistan`s Gwadar Port to Kashgar city, northwestern China`s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

 

Visits to Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus

President Xi Jinping holds talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana, Kazakhstan, May 7, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

 

China-Kazakhstan

 

 President Xi Jinping and his Kazakh counterpart agreed to step up cooperation over the trans-Eurasian mega project. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan is ready to become an important partner of China`s in building the Silk Road Economic Belt.

 

"We are ready to align the (China-proposed) Silk Road Economic Belt initiative to Kazakhstan`s new economic policy of the Bright Road, so as to achieve common development and prosperity on the basis of equality and reciprocity," Xi said.

 

 

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the signing of a joint statement after their talks in Moscow, May 8, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

 

China-Russia

 

Two joint statements were signed by President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as the two leaders agreed to bridge and integrate China’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative with Russia`s aspiration under the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) framework.

 

China and Russia will expand opening up to each other, link their development strategies and deepen integration, Xi said.

 

 

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during the signing of a treaty of friendship and cooperation and a joint statement on deepening cooperation after their talks in Minsk, capital of Belarus, May 10, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

China-Belarus

 

President Xi Jinping and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko pledged to combine strategies of development and boost the comprehensive strategic partnership between their countries.

Xi suggested the two sides should combine their development strategies and work together to build the Silk Road Economic Belt, emphasizing the significance of the China-Belarus Industrial Park.

 

President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during a welcome banquet jointly hosted by Washington State government and friendly communities in Seattle, the US, Sept 22, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

Visit to the US

Sept 22-25

"The Belt and Road Initiative is open and inclusive. We welcome participation of the US and other countries and international organizations", Xi said.

 

 

President Xi Jinping addresses a China-Britain business summit in London, Oct 21, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Visit to the UK

Oct 19-23

Xi described the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative as an open, diversified and win-win project poised to bring huge opportunities for the development of China and many other countries.

China and Britain expressed their strong interest in cooperating on each other`s major initiatives, namely China`s Belt and Road Initiative and Britain`s National Infrastructure Plan and the Northern Powerhouse program, and agreed to further discuss a "China-UK infrastructure alliance".

 

  

President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, shakes hands with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov 5, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

China-Vietnam

The two countries have reached consensus on expanding cooperation within the framework of China`s Belt and Road Initiative and Vietnam`s "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan, as well as on enhancing production capacity cooperation, said Xi.

 

 

President Xi Jinping meets with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore, Nov 7, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

China-Singapore

China and Singapore should expand cooperation in economy, trade and investment, and actively explore mode of cooperation between the two countries` enterprises in a third market within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said.

China`s neighboring countries are the primary cooperation partners under the Belt and Road Initiative and should be the first to enjoy the benefits of it, he said.

 

 

President Xi Jinping meets with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dec 3, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xi expressed China`s willingness to strengthen economic ties with the African countries in areas such as investment and finance, infrastructure construction, manufacture, agriculture, production capacity and healthcare, as well as cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

At a meeting with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, Xi said China welcomes Djibouti`s participation in developing the Beijing-proposed 21st-century Maritime Silk Road in proper ways.