I. Consensuses on the Belt and Road Initiative and Cooperation Framework
1. What consensuses have been achieved on the Belt and Road Initiative?
Time flies, and three years have flashed past since the Belt and Road Initiative was first proposed. Right from the start, China and the other countries involved have consistently promoted the joint building of the Belt and Road by implementing various plans and projects, actively making use of existing bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, and effectively promoting regional and cross-regional cooperation. Over 100 countries and international organizations intend to take part, and 40 or more countries and international organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China, thus forming an extensive consensus on international cooperation. Relevant resolutions and documents of the General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the Greater Mekong Subregion Cooperation, among others, have included or reflected the construction of the Belt and Road.
At the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in November 2016, 193 member states unanimously endorsed inclusion of the Belt and Road Initiative into the UN General Assembly resolution, and called on the international community to ensure security during the building of the Belt and Road, corroborating the principle of “wide consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.” The international community warmly welcomed this move.
As a multilateral support mechanism for the building of the Belt and Road, APEC accords with the Belt and Road Initiative in many areas. Most of the 21 APEC member states are located along the Belt and Road. On the one hand, they are committed to promoting trade facilitation and liberalization and the establishment of free trade zones. On the other, they strive to promote investment cooperation and facilitation, and to remove investment barriers. On November 20, 2016, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the 24th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. He said, “China is making progress with the Belt and Road Initiative. Featuring extensive consultation, joint participation and shared benefits among partners in the region, this initiative will contribute to enhancing connectivity in the Asia-Pacific. China will seek synergy in development strategies and cooperation initiatives with relevant parties to realize common development.” The Belt and Road Initiative coincides with APEC’s efforts to eradicate bottlenecks in regional connectivity and build a platform for policy coordination for the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.
On September 3, 2016, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech entitled “A New Starting Point for China’s Development, A New Blueprint for Global Growth” at the opening ceremony of the B20 Summit. He said, “China’s development has benefited from the international community, and we are ready to provide more public goods to the international community. I have proposed the initiative of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road to share China’s development opportunities with countries along the Belt and Road and achieve common prosperity.” The new mechanisms and initiatives China has launched are not intended to reinvent the wheel or be a“one-man band,” but rather to advocate common participation, mutual support, and common development. The aim of the Belt and Road Initiative is to complement and improve current international mechanisms and achieve win-win cooperation and common development.
On June 23-24, 2016, on the occasion of celebrating the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the 16th Meeting of the Council of the Heads of the Member States of the SCO took place in Tashkent, capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and adopted the Press Communiqué of the Meeting of the Council of the Heads of the Member States of the SCO. The heads of the member states stated, “It is necessary to further promote multilateral cooperation in the field of transport and the building of international transport corridors, create hubs connecting Asia and Europe, jointly implement infrastructure projects, expand the potential for economically viable connectivity, and achieve regional transport potential.”They further stated, “We should pay special attention to the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the fields of culture, health, science and technology, education, environmental protection, and sports and tourism, and jointly carry out research on and protect cultural and natural heritages in areas relating to the SCO and other countries along the Silk Road.”
On March 23, 2016, the heads of state of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam held the First Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders’ Meeting in Sanya, and issued the Sanya Declaration of the First LMC Leaders’Meeting. It clearly stated the LMC leaders’ agreement to encourage synergy between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and LMC activities and projects, as well as relevant development programs of the Mekong countries, including the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC). The five Mekong countries are important members of ASEAN, and the synergy between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and LMC is conducive to achieving the inherent development potential of various countries, upgrading the multidimensional China-ASEAN cooperation mechanism, and instilling new vitality into the development of Asia. The LMC is also a new medium for South-South Cooperation. The synergy between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the LMC demonstrates the firm resolve of China and the five Mekong countries to work together to implement the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development.