Source: People's Daily Online    Published: 2019-4-26

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a key speech on Friday, at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, reiterating China’s commitment to reform and opening up, as well as presenting a slew of specific measures to strengthen cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“A more open China will further integrate itself into the world and deliver greater progress and prosperity for both China and the world at large,” said Xi.

Looking back at China’s development over the past 70 years, Xi noted that China is now at a historical starting point, and is now calling for result-oriented implementation and joint promotion of high-quality BRI cooperation.

“Xi’s speech has sent a strong message that China’s future and the BRI are now closely linked, reassuring the world that the BRI is not a short-term goal, but a sustainable and beneficial development plan for the whole world,” Wang Wen, executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told People’s Daily Online.

“Bounding China’s future with the BRI is a solid response to western speculation, as well as a promise to all participating countries and international organizations. With China’s further opening up to the world, all doubt and smears regarding the BRI will be cleared within time,” said Wang.

During Xi’s speech, he also mentioned a number of detailed measures to further strengthen the implementation of high-quality BRI cooperation, including intellectual property rights protection, green sustainability, as well as people-to-people exchange.

According to Wang, compared to the speech Xi delivered two years ago at the first BRF, more practical and detailed development plans have been put forward during this year’s speech, noting that BRI has entered a more pragmatic and high-quality stage.

“For the past six years, BRI’s priority has been self-promotion and international recognition. After successfully accumulating experience and resources, it is time to turn this initiative into a pragmatic cooperation platform, as it represents not only China’s future, but also the future of the whole world,” said Wang.

Serving as a leading platform for international cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, BRF attracted heads of state and government from 37 foreign countries and other representatives from around the world to discuss the future of the BRI.

Wang Wen is executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.