The Belt and Road Initiative Is a New Engine Driving World Development

The Silk Road was an important step for ancient China in reaching out to the world. Through it, Chinese civilization and world civilizations were interconnected, with a long and continuous history. This passage witnessed millennia of trade and human exchange across the Eurasian continent. In the New Era, China has inherited and developed the “Silk Road spirit,” creatively putting forward the Belt and Road Initiative based on the principle of “extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.” This unprecedented, vast cooperative plan is built on the principle of genuine multilateralism, fully respects the sovereignty, security, development interests, and cultural traditions of all countries, and promotes cooperation and integration among different countries and regions of the world in multiple fields such as economy, culture, and science and technology.

丝绸之路是古代中国迈向世界的重要一步，借此中华文明与世界文明相互连通，源远流长，这条通道见证了亚欧大陆持续数千年的贸易与人文交往。新时代中国传承和发扬“丝路精神”，创造性提出了以“共商共建共享”为原则的“一带一路”倡议。这个史无前例的庞大合作计划，建立在真正的多边主义原则之上，充分尊重各国主权安全、发展利益和文化传统，促进世界不同国家和地区在经济、文化、科技等多个领域合作交融。

The Belt and Road Initiative has created a more inclusive form of globalization. In recent years, the West has stirred up a trend of anti-globalization, deliberately creating incidents and setting up barriers in an attempt to obstruct exchanges between East and West in key scientific and technological fields. This Western attitude reflects their self-righteous perception that “socialist China is rising, and the influence of unilateralism on the world is weakening.” Some Western observers still harbor the prejudice against China that “a strong country is bound to seek hegemony.” [1]1 “A strong country is bound to seek hegemony” (国强必霸) is a phrase often used in Chinese political discourse to characterize a perceived Western assumption about the inevitable aggressive behavior of rising powers, which Chinese officials and scholars explicitly reject. But the Belt and Road Initiative is precisely the opposite of these assertions that insist on a “China threat.” The Belt and Road Initiative is inherently marked by a distinct inclusiveness; the worldview it embodies pursues the harmonious coexistence and interdependence of the world’s people, with the ultimate goal of building, together with the people of all countries, a community with a shared future for mankind. No matter how the West plays up the “China threat,” China consistently demonstrates to the world its unwavering stance of maintaining peace, upholding openness, pursuing coordinated development, and sharing prosperity. China’s development can inject strong momentum into world prosperity; conversely, the peace and development of other countries can create a better external environment for China’s development. The tide of world development is unstoppable. China’s Belt and Road Initiative is an appointment with the times, a path of win-win cooperation, a promise from China, and, moreover, the general trend of globalization.

“一带一路”打造出更具包容性的全球化。近些年，西方掀起逆全球化思潮，有意制造事端、设置壁垒，企图阻挠东西方在关键科学技术方面的交流。西方的这种态度，折射出他们自以为是的认知，即“社会主义中国正在崛起，单极主义对世界的影响正在弱化”。一些西方观察家对中国仍存有“国强必霸”的偏见。但“一带一路”恰与这些坚持“中国威胁”的论调截然相反。“一带一路”与生俱来带有鲜明的包容性，其所蕴含的世界观追求世界人民和谐共处、相互依存，最终的目标是与各国人民一道构建人类命运共同体。无论西方如何渲染“中国威胁”，中国始终向世界展现维护和平、坚持开放、协同发展、共享繁荣的一贯立场。中国的发展能为世界繁荣注入强劲动力；反过来，世界其他国家的和平与发展也能为中国的发展创造更好的外部环境。世界发展的浪潮不可阻挡，中国的“一带一路”是时代之约，是共赢之路，是中国之诺，更是全球化的大势所趋。

The Belt and Road Initiative empowers the long-term development of developing countries. As soon as the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, it received a warm welcome and active response from a vast number of developing countries. These countries have also become the biggest beneficiaries under the Belt and Road framework. For example, with the help of Chinese experts and nearly 20,000 technical workers, the people of Laos have successfully built modern hospitals, schools, and power plants, and constructed the China-Laos Railway, stretching thousands of miles and crossing mountains and rivers. This friendship railway, from Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is over 1,000 kilometers long, passes through 301 bridges and 167 tunnels, has a design speed of 160 kilometers per hour, and was completed and opened to traffic in December 2021. This railway has brought Laos into the “high-speed rail era,” transforming it from a “landlocked country to a land-linked country,” [2]2 “Landlocked country to a land-linked country” (变陆锁国为陆联国) is a slogan used by the Lao government and Chinese media to describe the transformative effect of the China-Laos Railway on Laos’s connectivity. and accelerating economic development along the route. Particularly noteworthy is that during the construction of the China-Laos Railway, the Chinese technical team paid special attention to environmental protection, reasonably avoiding potential negative impacts on residents and the ecology along the route at all stages of the plan design, ultimately making the China-Laos high-speed rail a “brand project” and, moreover, a “project of popular sentiment.” [3]3 “Project of popular sentiment” (民心工程) is a Chinese political term for infrastructure or public works projects that are designed to win public support and improve people’s livelihoods. Laos has not only gained modern infrastructure but has also learned advanced Chinese technology and experience.

“一带一路”为发展中国家长远发展赋能。“一带一路”一经提出，就得到广大发展中国家热烈欢迎和积极响应。这些国家也成为“一带一路”框架下最大的受益者。例如，老挝人民在中国专家和近两万名技术工人的帮助下，成功建设一个个现代化的医院、学校、发电厂，修筑了绵延千里、穿越山川大河的中老铁路。这条从中国云南昆明至老挝首都万象的友谊铁路全长1000多公里，途经301座桥梁、167座隧道，设计时速160公里，2021年12月竣工通车。这条铁路让老挝跨入“高铁时代”，从此“变陆锁国为陆联国”，沿线地区经济发展不断加速。尤其值得关注的是，中老铁路建设过程中，中国技术团队特别注重环境保护，在方案设计的各个阶段合理规避可能给沿线居民和生态带来的负面影响，最终让中老高铁成为“品牌项目”，更是“民心工程”。老挝不仅获得了现代化的基础设施，也学到了中国先进的技术和经验。

The Belt and Road Initiative helps developing countries solve financing difficulties. According to relevant reports, the global demand for infrastructure investment amounts to 94 trillion US dollars. If this trend continues, developing countries will fall into a vicious cycle of “no money means no construction, and no infrastructure means no development opportunities.” To help developing countries obtain the necessary funds for the initial stage of development, China took the lead in establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), promoting international financial cooperation through a multilateral system and developing more adaptable and flexible financing schemes. The AIIB, together with the New Development Bank of the BRICS countries and the Silk Road Fund, has become a main channel for international investment and financing. In 2018, China’s Silk Road Fund and the European Investment and Development Bank jointly established the China-Europe Co-investment Fund, further improving the systematic construction of international financial cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Thanks to this, key projects along the Belt and Road have been smoothly advanced, such as the Anaklia Deep Sea Port and the local economic special zone, jointly funded by China and Georgia. It is estimated that by 2025, the port’s cargo throughput capacity is expected to exceed 100 million tons, which will strongly boost local economic development.

“一带一路”帮助发展中国家解决融资难题。据有关报道，全球基础设施投资需求达94万亿美元。照此趋势发展下去，发展中国家将陷入“没有钱就没法搞建设，没有基建就无法获得发展机会”的死循环。为帮助发展中国家获得发展起步阶段的必要资金，中国牵头成立亚洲基础设施投资银行，以多边体系推动国际金融合作，开发出适应性更强且灵活多样的融资方案；亚投行与金砖国家新开发银行、丝路基金等已经成为国际投融资的主渠道。2018年，中国丝路基金与欧洲投资开发银行共同设立了中欧共同基金，进一步完善了“一带一路”国际金融合作的体系化建设。得益于此，“一带一路”沿线各个重点项目得以顺利推进，如中国和格鲁吉亚共同出资建设的阿纳克利亚深海港及当地经济特区，预计至2025年，该港货物吞吐能力有望突破1亿吨，将有力拉动当地经济发展。

The Belt and Road Initiative has found a way out for poverty reduction and alleviation in countries along the route. Research by the World Bank shows that investments related to the Belt and Road Initiative can help lift over 34 million people out of moderate poverty, of whom 29.4 million live in countries and regions along the route. Driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, foreign economic and trade cooperation in countries along the route has continued to grow, China’s investment scale has increased year by year, and it has employed hundreds of thousands of local workers. With the support of Chinese capital and technology, the industrial structures of countries along the route have become more complete, their advantageous production capacities have been brought to the fore, and “industrial poverty alleviation” is no longer an empty phrase for local people. At the same time, the digital Belt and Road cooperation has also borne fruit in countries along the route, with digital trade, mainly e-commerce, flourishing.

“一带一路”为沿线国家减贫脱贫找到出路。世界银行的研究显示，“一带一路”相关投资可帮助3400多万人摆脱中度贫困，其中2940万人生活在沿线国家和地区。在“一带一路”的带动下，沿线国家对外经贸合作持续增长，中国投资规模逐年递增，雇用了数以十万计当地工人。在中国资本和技术的支持下，沿线国家的产业结构更加完整，优势产能得以显现，“产业扶贫”对当地人来说不再是一句空话。与此同时，数字“一带一路”合作也在沿线国家开花结果，以电子商务为主的数字贸易获得蓬勃发展。

In addition to its outstanding contribution to combating poverty, at the critical moment when the COVID-19 pandemic was raging across the globe, the Chinese government closely coordinated epidemic prevention mechanisms with countries along the Belt and Road, shared epidemic prevention information, provided medical supplies and technical equipment to many countries, and dispatched multiple medical teams to support epidemic prevention work, helping these countries meet the challenge of the pandemic. All this has made more countries see that the virus knows no borders, the pandemic distinguishes no races, and humanity is a community with a shared future where we rise and fall together.

除了对抗贫困的突出贡献外，新冠肺炎疫情在全球肆虐的危急时刻，中国政府与“一带一路”沿线国家紧密协调防疫机制、共享防疫信息，为多国提供医疗物资、技术设备，派出多批医疗队伍支援防疫工作，帮助这些国家应对疫情挑战。这些都让更多国家看到，病毒没有国界，疫情不分种族，人类是休戚与共的命运共同体。

The Belt and Road Initiative is undoubtedly a model of South-South cooperation. China is a positive force in promoting the economic and social development of developing countries, especially African countries. China-Africa cooperation contributes Chinese wisdom and experience to local development, helping African countries achieve genuine self-reliance and self-strengthening. As the economic benefits brought by the Belt and Road Initiative continue to manifest, more and more developing countries will be attracted to integrate into it, and the cooperation map will continue to expand. No matter how the West tries to erase China’s positive contributions to global development, the Belt and Road Initiative is undoubtedly a highly visible model of South-South cooperation.

“一带一路”倡议无疑是南南合作的典范。中国是推动广大发展中国家特别是非洲国家经济、社会发展的积极力量，中非合作为当地发展贡献中国智慧和经验，帮助非洲国家实现真正的自强自立。随着“一带一路”所带来的经济效益不断彰显，将会吸引越来越多发展中国家融入其中，合作版图将会不断扩大。无论西方如何抹杀中国对全世界发展的积极贡献，“一带一路”无疑都是备受瞩目的南南合作典范。

(Author: Rocco Lacorte, Associate Professor, Nankai University; Translator: Li Kaixuan, Distinguished Research Fellow, Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Associate Research Fellow, Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者：罗科·拉科尔特，南开大学副教授；译者：李凯旋，中国社会科学院习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特约研究员、中国社会科学院马克思主义研究院副研究员）

Online Editor: Zhang Jian

网络编辑：张剑