Chinese companies have made over 50b US dollars of investment in the countries along the routes
INP
ISLAMABAD
The “Belt and Road” initiative received warm response from over 100 countries and international organizations.
It may be mentioned here that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a pilot project of the initiative. While highlighting the success of the Belt and Road’s initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Xi Jinping said more than 40 countries and international organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China, and their circle of friends along the “Belt and Road” is growing bigger.
Chinese companies have made over 50 billion US dollars of investment and launched a number of major projects in the countries along the routes, spurring the economic development of these countries and creating many local jobs. The “Belt and Road” initiative originated in China, but it has delivered benefits well beyond its borders.
President Xi announced that in May this year, China will host in Beijing the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which aims to discuss ways to boost cooperation, build cooperation platforms and share cooperation outcomes.
The forum will also explore ways to address problems facing global and regional economy, create fresh energy for pursuing inter-connected development and make the “Belt and Road” initiative deliver greater benefits to people of countries involved.
Pointing out China’s major contribution to World economy, President Xi Jinping said, between 1950 and 2016, despite its modest level of development and living standard, China provided more than 400 billion yuan of foreign assistance, undertook over 5,000 foreign assistance projects, including nearly 3,000 complete projects, and held over 11,000 training workshops in China for over 260,000 personnel from other developing countries.
Since it launched reform and opening-up, China has attracted over 1.7 trillion US dollars of foreign investment and made over 1.2 trillion US dollars of direct outbound investment making huge contribution to global economic development. In the years following the outbreak of the international financial crisis, China contributed to over 30% of global growth every year on average. All these figures are among the highest in the world.
The figures speak for themselves. China’s development is an opportunity for the world; China has not only benefited from economic globalization but also contributed to it. Rapid growth in China has been a sustained, powerful engine for global economic stability and expansion.
The inter-connected development of China and a large number of other countries has made the world economy more balanced. China’s remarkable achievement in poverty reduction has contributed to more inclusive global growth. And China’s continuous progress in reform and opening-up has lent much momentum to an open world economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the world to reject protectionism and instead work together to guide and adapt to economic globalization.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the annual gathering of global powerbrokers in Davos, Xi acknowledged that economic globalization was a double-edged sword but stressed that blaming it for the world’s problems is inconsistent with reality and unhelpful to solving the problems.
