Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli address the opening ceremony of Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Industry Dialogue on Connectivity in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, May 27, 2015. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is progressing full steam ahead, with many countries registering cooperation interest with China and other projects already underway.
China's message to the world? The journey may have begun, but all countries are welcome onboard the train of development.
Although an ambitious initiative, it is underpinned by the vision that mutual benefit will emerge from cooperation and common security.
The Belt and Road routes run through Asia, Europe and Africa, connecting the vibrant economic circle of East Asia with the developed European community.
Speaking at a Eurasian political and business forum in the southwest city of Chongqing on Wednesday, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli called on Asia and Europe to strengthen communication, trade and financial links.
Many other foreign leaders at the forum acknowledged that there was a pressing need to heighten cooperation through infrastructure, people-to-people exchanges, policy coordination, trade and capital flow.
With many developing countries and emerging economies on paths toward fast-track development, the interests of the international community are becoming more and more intertwined.
New economic growth engines must be identified, as they are needed to inject vitality into many economies. China, as the world's second largest economy with the largest foreign exchange reserves, plays an important role in this increasingly globalized world.
What is China's role on the international stage as an Asian power? Currently, it is the largest trade partner of more than 120 countries and the largest export destination of more than 70 countries.
The world is looking to China to share the fruits of its development. However, China is not blinkered in this respect: It needs other nations to facilitate its own development opportunities.
Thus, it is no surprise the Belt and Road Initiatives has been welcomed by more than 60 countries and organizations: Its success is in the interests of all those involved.
For those concerned that China may pose a threat, it should be made clear that it is Chinese capital not the government that is behind these cooperations. The government merely created a platform for cooperation.
China has been able to use its experience to identify regional and economic advantages -- such as international transportation routes, and the role of core cities and industrial parks as cooperation platforms -- when initiating cooperative projects.
As a result, plans for a new Eurasian Land Bridge and various economic corridors are already taking shape.
The China-Pakistan economic corridor, a network of roads, railways and energy projects linking southwest Pakistan's deepwater Gwadar Port with Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China, was built first, and the China-sponsored Gwadar Port is already operational.
Cooperation will be significantly boosted by funding from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund, which will fund projects that will be directly felt by about 63 percent of the global population.
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