China welcomes closer ‘Belt and Road’ partnerships: Xi

BEIJING: China is willing to work with all parties to build a closer "Belt and Road" partnership, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in a written address to the Asia and Pacific High-level Conference on Belt and Road Cooperation.

Xi said the purpose of proposing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is to inherit the Silk Road spirit, jointly build an open cooperation platform and provide new impetus for the cooperation and development of all countries, reported foreign media. According to Xi, China has signed cooperation agreements with a total of 140 countries under the BRI in eight years. Hailing the pragmatic progress achieved, President Xi said all parties have actively enhanced connectivity in policy, infrastructure, trade, finance and people-to-people ties.

He said a partnership for all-dimensional and composite connectivity has been set up, which opened up new prospects for common development. "Facing the COVID-19 outbreak that caught us all by surprise, we have been supporting and assisting each other in the most difficult times and pushed forward the construction of the BRI, conveying confidence and strength to the international community and making an important contribution to global cooperation against the pandemic and economic recovery," Xi said.

The Chinese president reiterated that the joint pursuit of the BRI should follow the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, pursue open, green and clean cooperation, as well as pursuing high-standard cooperation to improve people's lives and promote sustainable development.

As China enters a new development stage, follows a new development philosophy and fosters a new development paradigm, Xi believes it will provide more market opportunities, investment opportunities and growth opportunities for its BRI partners.

Voicing China's willingness to build a closer BRI partnership, Xi called for adhering to the road of solidarity and cooperation, connectivity and common development, and jointly promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.