Belt and Road at China’s 19th Party Congress

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From October 18 to 25, China held its 19th Party Congress in Beijing, an event scheduled twice each decade to elect party leadership and set the party’s policy agenda. In a surprise move, the Congress announced its decision to include new language enshrining President Xi Jinping’s flagship foreign policy initiative, the “Belt and Road” (BRI), in its constitution. The following quotes related to the Belt and Road are drawn from Xi’s opening remarks.

“Regional development has become more balanced; the ‘Belt and Road Initiative,’ the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the development of the Yangtze Economic Belt have all made notable progress. Through devoting great energy to implementing the innovation-driven development strategy, we have seen much accomplished toward making China a country of innovators…”

“We have jointly pursued the ‘Belt and Road Initiative,’ initiated the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, set up the Silk Road Fund, and hosted the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation Summit…China champions the development of a community with a shared future for mankind, and has encouraged the evolution of the global governance system.”

“We should pursue the Belt and Road Initiative as a priority, give equal emphasis to ‘bringing in’ and ‘going global,’ follow the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration, and increase openness and cooperation in building innovation capacity. With these efforts, we hope to make new ground in opening China further through links running eastward and westward, across land and over sea.”

“China adheres to the fundamental national policy of opening up and pursues development with its doors open wide. China will actively promote international cooperation through the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. In doing so, we hope to achieve policy, infrastructure, trade, financial, and people-to-people connectivity and thus build a new platform for international cooperation to create new drivers of shared development.”

Source: Xinhua News, (English Translation)

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