With the theme of “New Opportunities and New Challenges: B&R and Global Governance in a New Era”, the Sixth International Forum on Belt and Road Initiative and Global Governance was held in Shanghai from the 10th to the 12th of November.
Chen Zhou, vice minister of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee said, more than 3,000 cooperation projects have been confirmed within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI), engaging two-thirds of the countries in the world and bringing tangible economic and social benefits to countries along the route. In the face of the rapid changes over the past century, BRI has maintained in its cooperation projects the equality of countries, openness of platforms, inclusiveness of mechanisms and sharing of results. It has facilitated the improvement of inadequate representation, poor operation and unsatisfying performance of the global governance system to make the global governance system more fair and reasonable.
The 20th CPC National Congress made a strategic plan for comprehensively building a modern socialist country and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. China cannot develop in isolation from the world, and the world’s development also needs China. China will work closely with the rest of the world to reform and develop the global governance system, aiming to build a global community with a shared future for mankind.
International Silk Road Think Tank Association is an important think tank to serve BRI. It will work together with Fudan University and other domestic and foreign partners to offer suggestions for the high-quality development of BRI.
Jiao Yang, chair of Fudan University Council and dean of the Fudan Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance said, connectivity has resulted in fruitful results. The quality and effectiveness of economic and trade cooperation have improved. People-to-people exchanges have been strengthened.
Fudan Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance has continuously innovated theories, given advice to governmental organizations, built partnerships in education and disseminated research findings and proposals.
The International Forum on Belt and Road and Global Governance has become a well-known brand and important platform for political, business and academic cooperation at home and abroad to discuss issues about BRI and global governance.
The new era features profound changes in China and the rest of the world, which presents us with new opportunities and challenges. The next year marks the 10th anniversary of BRI, and Fudan Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance should grasp the opportunity to step up theoretical research. Also, we will continue to pursue open exchanges and further promote educational cooperation by fostering more talents, promoting cooperation among universities, research institutes and think tanks from countries along the Belt and Road, building a stronger global cooperation network and constantly improving education openness and cooperation. Through people-to-people and cultural exchanges and academic dialogues, we can help the world better understand China in the new era and its modernization cause while promoting mutual learning.
Vincent Lo, chairman of Shui On Group said, sustainable development remains the theme of our times. Economic and trade cooperation and mutually beneficial development remain the mainstream trend. BRI is one of China’s most important initiatives for international development cooperation. The Belt and Road cooperation has yielded fruitful results in terms of “hard connectivity” of infrastructure, “soft connectivity” of rules and standards and “heart connectivity” of people-to-people exchanges.
In addition, China has facilitated the implementation of UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through BRI by strengthening international macroeconomic policy coordination, rendering more support to various projects to resume their production and maintaining the stability and efficiency of global supply chains.
On June 8 this year, the Shanghai Belt and Road Comprehensive Service Center was established and one of its branches were built in Hongqiao International Central Business District to build a platform for the most economically dynamic enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta to develop in overseas markets. He suggested that this service center could become an information hub for the countries along the route and the cooperation projects, attracting countries around the world to participate in the “Belt and Road” investment projects.
We should give full play to Hong Kong’s role as a super connector to promote the interaction between Chinese enterprises and the international market and open up more channels for international economic cooperation. He hoped Fudan University could continue to work together with Hong Kong universities on relevant research on how to boost the cooperation between Shanghai and Hong Kong and the development of BRI.
Chen Zhimin, vice president of Fudan University, presided over the opening ceremony, said Fudan Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance has carried out many fruitful research projects in the past five years. Now Fudan University is standing at a new historical starting point. It will continue to ensure the success of the Forum and devote itself to the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Zhou Qiangwu, vice president of the New Development Bank (NDB), called for a new global multilateral governance framework set by the developing countries and emerging markets. He said, the post-WWII global multilateral governance framework took a roundabout path in the past few decades because western values predominated the whole process. That led to the interests of developing countries unguaranteed and underrepresented. Such new initiatives as BRI, BRICS Mechanism, NDB, AIIB and Global Development Initiative, serve as catalysts to improve and reform the current governance.
György Matolcsy, governor of Magyar Nemzeti Bank (the Hungarian National Bank) said, as the world is undergoing great changes, Eurasian cooperation holds the key to promoting sustainable economic and social development of all countries and maintaining stability in the face of future uncertainties. BRI has opened up the way for further strengthening Eurasian cooperation. Today’s world economic cycle has been affected by factors such as external shocks, high inflation, revolutionary impact of money and finance, and rapid technological development. We must enhance our capacity to ensure sustainable economic development, as well as promote digital, knowledge-based economy and regional and megaregional integrations.
Yue Yanghua, director of the Center for Contemporary World Studies of the International Department of the CPC said, the scope of cooperation under BRI is expanding; infrastructure connectivity is deepening; economic and trade exchanges and cooperation are boosted; investment and financing systems are more diversified; cultural and people-to-people exchanges are strengthened; and international cooperation in emerging areas is expanding. BRI meets the needs of China’s economic restructuring, and aligns with the trend of economic globalization and the inherent requirements of the reform of the global governance system.
Han Yongwen, vice director of the Center for International Economic Exchanges said, to achieve high-quality development of BRI, we should seize the new opportunities of the fourth Industrial Revolution and empower development in a digital, eco-friendly and innovative way. We should translate the vision of global cooperation under BRI into a new consensus on economic governance reform. We will tap the good practices under BRI in promoting innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development and create more room for cooperation and development.
Susan Thornton, senior fellow at the Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center, said pragmatic cooperation is the only way to face the myriad challenges we see emerging in today's complex world. The belt-and-road vision of global connectivity is the right one. All countries must be linked in education, travel, and business opportunities. Emerging markets will be major drivers of economic activity in future decades. We need the leading governments of the world to refocus their energies on sustainable development for all, based on market mechanisms regulated by well functioning international institutions and national governments.
Liu Yuanchun, president of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics said, BRI has brought development dividends and new room for growth generated by China to countries along the route. Many countries along the route have seized new opportunities to lay a solid foundation for future development. Exports and imports from Central Asian countries have risen sharply, overcoming weak demand and sluggish economy. At the same time, we should strengthen the research and prediction of risks in infrastructure, personnel, industrial parks, etc. to promote high-quality sustainable development of BRI.
Amb. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad and former foreign secretary of Pakistan said, recently there was a National Congress of the CPC where it was reiterated that China would like to work for creating development and economic opportunities for all regions and for all countries. Since Pakistan is engaged with China on this matter, we believe that it will generate economic opportunities for our region too. The Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif has visited the Peoples Republic of China and invigorated the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and overall cooperation between Pakistan and China. We believe and hope that in future the CPEC will extend to Afghanistan and may be to other countries because we all must benefit from the prosperity and opportunities BRI is extending.
Zhai Jingli, vice president of Asia Pulp & Paper (China) of Sinar Mas Group, said Asia Pulp & Paper and other overseas Chinese enterprises continue to contribute wisdom and efforts to the high-quality development of BRI, which is expected to promote the smooth industrial chain operations and capital flows through better financial policies. By exporting the advanced technologies and practices of China’s competitive industries, we can step up the cooperation in terms of technologies and talents among the countries along the Belt and Road. China’s amazing culture can also spread through multiple channels to demonstrate its soft power to countries along the route.
Huang Renwei, executive vice president of the Belt and Road and Global Governance Institute of Fudan University, moderated the keynote speech session.
The Forum was hosted by Fudan University and the International Silk Road Think Tank Association, and organized by the Fudan Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance and the China Center for Contemporary World Studies.
The Forum also features the Public Health Sub-Forum, the Entrepreneurs Sub-Forum, three symposiums, the Environmental Sub-Forum, and the 3rd Union of School of Politics and International Relations (USPIR) Dean’s Forum.
Over the past 6 years, the Forum has attracted more than 1,600 participants in total. By presenting China’s practices, wisdom and solutions, the Forum has deepened exchanges and mutual learning among countries along the Belt and Road and promoted the common prosperity of all countries along the Belt and Road.
Presented by Fudan University Media Center
