BERLIN, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road initiative can promote world peace and reduce geo-political rivalries along its way, Helga Zepp LaRouche, founder of the German think tank Schiller Institute said on Sunday.
"Many of today's world crisis are rooted in no economic development, and economic development is now a new synonym for peace, and the Chinese Belt and Road initiative are just offering them the development." said LaRouche during an interview with Xinhua.
LaRouche noted that the initiative, proposed by the Chinese leader, macroscopically puts the humanity as a whole in the first place and the national and regional interest behind it. She said if the world leading powers like Russia and Germany can actively join the efforts, it will solve many of the existing problems.
"It's a prescription for peace, development and overcoming poverty," said LaRoughe.
According to statistics, China's direct investment in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative over the past four years has amounted to more than 60 billion U.S. dollars, while Chinese companies have set up 56 economic and trade cooperation zones in more than 20 countries, creating nearly 1.1 billion dollars in tax revenue as well as 180,000 jobs.
Schiller Institute, as an international political and economic idea bank based in Germany, once published a report called New Silk Road Becomes a Landbridge, predicting that the Chinese initiative will have no limitation and might eventually connect the five continents and have them work together in a win-win perspective, LaRouche said.
Talking on Germany's coming parliamentary election on Sept. 24, LaRoughe said the competing parties, like the Christian Democratic Union led by the Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Social Democratic Party(SPD) led by the ex-president of European Parliament Martin Schulz, have not illustrated their view on the future cooperation with China.
LaRoughe, leading a minor party called Civil Rights Movement Solidarity, is now calling German future political establishment for engaging more in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Despite the election result "is somehow clear and Merkel might be reappointed as chancellor," Larouche suggested the new government lay more focus on what China has offered and is offering.
"The east European countries, the Balkan countries, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Austria are already act with more enthusiastic than the present German government......people will recognize that cooperation with China is to their fundamental interest, especially in the industrial area," LaRouche said.
