Speech by the Supreme Leader at the Opening Ceremony of the ＂Belt and Road＂ International Cooperation Summit Forum

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 14th

　　Work together to promote the "Belt and Road" construction

　　-Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the "Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum

　　(May 14, 2017, Beijing)

　　Chairman People’s Republic of China (PRC), Supreme Leader

　　On May 14th, the Supreme Leader of president attended the opening ceremony of the "Belt and Road" international cooperation summit forum and delivered a keynote speech entitled "Join hands to promote the construction of the Belt and Road". Xinhua News Agency reporter Yip Wong photo

　　Dear Heads of State and Government,

　　Heads of international organizations,

　　Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

　　"On the day of Meng Xia, everything is beautiful." In this beautiful season, it is of great significance for guests from all walks of life from more than 100 countries to gather in Beijing to discuss the cooperation plan for the "Belt and Road" construction. Today, a great number of talented people gather together, and I look forward to your brainstorming and speaking freely, offering suggestions and suggestions for promoting the construction of the Belt and Road, so that this century project can benefit people of all countries.

　　Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

　　More than 2000 years ago, our ancestors crossed the grassland desert and opened up the land silk road connecting Asia, Europe and Africa. Our forefathers sailed far and wide, crossed the stormy waves, and found the Maritime Silk Road connecting East and West. The ancient Silk Road opened a new window for friendly exchanges among countries and wrote a new chapter in human development and progress. The Millennium "Gold-plated Copper Silkworm" collected by Shaanxi History Museum in China and the Millennium shipwreck "Blackstone" found in Indonesia bear witness to this period of history.

　　The ancient Silk Road runs through Wan Li for thousands of years, and has accumulated the Silk Road spirit with peaceful cooperation, openness and tolerance, mutual learning and mutual benefit as its core. This is a precious legacy of human civilization.

　　-peaceful cooperation. During the Han Dynasty in China in more than 140 BC, a peace mission from Chang ‘an began to open the road from the East to the West and completed the "hollow journey", which was the famous Zhang Qian’s mission to the Western Regions. During the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties in China, the Silk Road on land and at sea developed simultaneously. Travelers Du Huan, Kyle Polo and ibn battuta from China, Italy and Morocco all left their historical marks on the Silk Road on land and at sea. In the Ming Dynasty in the early 15th century, Zheng He, a famous navigator in China, made seven voyages to the ocean, leaving an eternal story. These pioneering undertakings are famous in history because they use camel teams and goodwill instead of war horses and spears; We rely not on strong ships and guns, but on treasure ships and friendship. Generation after generation of "Silk Road People" have set up a bond of cooperation between the East and the West and a bridge of peace.

　　-openness and tolerance. The ancient Silk Road spans the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Indus and Ganges rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River basins, the birthplaces of Egyptian civilization, Babylonian civilization, Indian civilization and Chinese civilization, the gathering places of Buddhists, Christians and Muslims, and the settlements of people of different countries and colors. Different civilizations, religions and races seek common ground while reserving differences, are open and tolerant, write magnificent poems of mutual respect side by side, and work together to draw a beautiful picture of common development. Jiuquan, Dunhuang, Turpan, Kashgar, Samarkand, Baghdad, Constantinople and other ancient cities, and ancient ports in Ningbo, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Beihai, Colombo, Jeddah and Alexandria are "living fossils" that record this history. History tells us that civilization develops in openness and nations coexist in integration.

　　-learn from each other. The ancient Silk Road is not only a way of trade and barter, but also a way of knowledge exchange. Along the ancient Silk Road, China spread silk, porcelain, lacquerware and ironware to the west, and also brought pepper, flax, spices, grapes and pomegranate to China. Along the ancient Silk Road, Buddhism, Islam and Arabic astronomy, calendars and medicine were introduced to China, and China’s four great inventions and sericulture techniques were also introduced to the world. More importantly, the exchange of goods and knowledge has brought about conceptual innovation. For example, Buddhism originated in India, developed in China and passed down in Southeast Asia. Confucian culture originated in China and was highly praised by European thinkers such as Leibniz and Voltaire. This is the charm of communication and the result of mutual learning.

　　-mutual benefit and win-win. The ancient Silk Road witnessed the grand occasion of "emissaries face each other on the road, and business trips are endless" on land, and also witnessed the prosperity of "ships in the sea, I don’t know the number" at sea. On this artery, capital, technology, personnel and other factors of production flow freely, and goods, resources and achievements are shared. Alma Ata, Samarkand, Chang ‘an and other important towns and good ports such as Sur Port and Guangzhou are thriving, while ancient countries such as Rome, Rest in Peace and Guishuang are thriving, and the Han and Tang Dynasties in China ushered in a prosperous time. The ancient Silk Road created great development and prosperity in the region.

　　History is the best teacher. This history shows that no matter how far apart, as long as we bravely take the first step and stick to the opposite direction, we can walk out of a road of meeting, knowing each other and developing together, and move towards a happy, peaceful, harmonious and beautiful distance.

　　Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

　　From a historical perspective, human society is in an era of great development, great change and great adjustment. World multipolarization, economic globalization, social informatization and cultural diversity have developed in depth, and the trend of peaceful development has become increasingly strong, and the pace of reform and innovation has continued to move forward. The ties between countries have never been so close as they are today, the people of the world have never been so eager for a better life, and the means for mankind to overcome difficulties have never been so rich.

　　From a realistic perspective, we are in a world with frequent challenges. World economic growth needs new impetus, development needs a more inclusive balance, and the gap between the rich and the poor needs to be bridged. Regional hotspots continue to be turbulent and terrorism is rampant. Peace deficit, development deficit and governance deficit are severe challenges facing all mankind. This is a question that I have been thinking about.

　　In the autumn of 2013, I put forward the "Belt and Road Initiative" in Kazakhstan and Indonesia to jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. "peaches and plums don’t say anything, and they are self-sufficient." Over the past four years, more than 100 countries and international organizations around the world have actively supported and participated in the "Belt and Road" construction, and important resolutions such as the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council have also been included in the "Belt and Road" construction. The construction of the "Belt and Road" has gradually changed from concept to action, from vision to reality, and the construction results have been fruitful.

　　-This is four years of deepening policy communication. I have said many times that the construction of the "Belt and Road" is not to start from scratch, but to achieve strategic docking and complementary advantages. We coordinate policies with relevant countries, including the Eurasian Economic Union proposed by Russia, the master plan of interconnection proposed by ASEAN, the bright road proposed by Kazakhstan, the middle corridor proposed by Turkey, the development road proposed by Mongolia, the two corridors and one circle proposed by Vietnam, the economic center of northern England proposed by Britain and the amber road proposed by Poland. The planning and docking of China with Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Hungary and other countries is also in full swing. China has signed cooperation agreements with more than 40 countries and international organizations, and carried out institutionalized capacity cooperation with more than 30 countries. During this forum, we will also sign a number of docking cooperation agreements and action plans, and jointly launch cooperation initiatives to promote the "Belt and Road" trade with more than 60 countries and international organizations. All parties have achieved the effect of "one plus one is greater than two" through policy docking.

　　-This is four years of continuous strengthening of facilities connectivity. "The road is clear, and all industries are prosperous." Together with relevant countries, we have accelerated projects such as Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, China-Laos Railway, Yaji Railway and Hungarian Railway, built ports such as Gwadar Port and Piraeus Port, and planned to implement a large number of interconnection projects. At present, a complex infrastructure network is taking shape, with China-Pakistan, China-Mongolia-Russia, New Eurasian Continental Bridge and other economic corridors as the guide, land, sea and air passages and information highways as the skeleton, and relying on major projects such as railways, ports and pipe networks.

　　-This is a four-year period of continuous improvement in the smooth flow of trade. China and the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative have vigorously promoted trade and investment facilitation and continuously improved the business environment. I understand that the customs clearance time for agricultural products from Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries to reach the China market has been shortened by 90%. From 2014 to 2016, the total trade volume between China and countries along the Belt and Road exceeded 3 trillion US dollars. China has invested more than $50 billion in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative. China enterprises have built 56 economic and trade cooperation zones in more than 20 countries, creating nearly $1.1 billion in tax revenue and 180,000 jobs for the countries concerned.

　　-This is a four-year continuous expansion of financial intermediation. Financing bottleneck is a prominent challenge to achieve interconnection. China has carried out various forms of financial cooperation with participating countries and organizations in the Belt and Road Initiative. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has provided US$ 1.7 billion in loans for nine projects in the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Silk Road Fund has invested US$ 4 billion. China and the "16+1" financial holding company in Central and Eastern Europe have been formally established. These new financial mechanisms have their own emphases and complement each other with traditional multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank, forming a "Belt and Road" financial cooperation network with clear levels and taking shape.

　　-This is four years of continuous promotion of people’s hearts. "The turn of the country lies in the people’s blind date, and the people’s blind date lies in the heart." Participating countries in the "Belt and Road" construction carry forward the spirit of the Silk Road, carry out the construction of the Intellectual Silk Road and the Healthy Silk Road, and carry out extensive cooperation in various fields such as science, education, culture, health and people-to-people exchanges, so as to lay a solid foundation for public opinion and build a solid social foundation for the "Belt and Road" construction. China government provides 10,000 government scholarships to relevant countries every year, and local governments also set up special scholarships for the Silk Road to encourage international cultural and educational exchanges. All kinds of cultural year, tourism year, art festival, film and television bridge, seminar, think tank dialogue and other humanities cooperation projects are colorful, and people have frequent exchanges, which has narrowed the distance between hearts in exchanges.

　　The fruitful results show that the "Belt and Road Initiative" conforms to the trend of the times, adapts to the law of development, conforms to the interests of people of all countries and has broad prospects.

　　Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

　　Chinese said, "Everything is difficult at the beginning". The construction of the "Belt and Road" has taken solid steps. We must take advantage of the situation and follow the trend to promote the construction of the "Belt and Road" and move towards a better future. Here, I would like to make a few comments.

　　First, we should build the Belt and Road into a road to peace. The ancient Silk Road was in harmony with the times and declined in wartime. The construction of the "Belt and Road" cannot be separated from a peaceful and peaceful environment. We should build a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation as the core, and build a partnership of dialogue, non-confrontation and non-alignment. Countries should respect each other’s sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity, their development paths and social systems, and their core interests and major concerns.

　　The areas along the ancient Silk Road used to be "places where milk and honey flowed", but now many places have become synonymous with conflict turmoil and crisis challenges. This situation can’t last any longer. We should establish a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept and create a security pattern of joint construction and sharing. Efforts should be made to resolve hot spots and adhere to political settlement; Efforts should be made to mediate and adhere to fairness and justice; Efforts should be made to promote counter-terrorism, treat both the symptoms and root causes, and eliminate poverty, backwardness and social injustice.

　　Second, we should build the Belt and Road into a road to prosperity. Development is the key to solve all problems. To promote the construction of the "Belt and Road", we must focus on the fundamental issue of development, release the development potential of all countries, and achieve great economic integration, great development linkage and great sharing of achievements.

　　Industry is the foundation of economy. We should deepen industrial cooperation, promote the compatibility and mutual promotion of industrial development plans of various countries, do a good job in the construction of large projects, strengthen international cooperation in production capacity and equipment manufacturing, seize new opportunities for the development of the new industrial revolution, cultivate new formats, and maintain the vitality of economic growth.

　　Finance is the blood of modern economy. The blood is connected, and growth is powerful. We should establish a stable, sustainable and risk-controllable financial security system, innovate investment and financing modes, promote cooperation between government and social capital, build a diversified financing system and a multi-level capital market, develop inclusive finance and improve the financial service network.

　　Connectivity of facilities is the foundation of cooperative development. We should focus on promoting the four-in-one connectivity of land, sea, sky and internet, focusing on key passages, key cities and key projects, and connecting land roads, railway road networks and maritime port networks. We have established the framework of "One Belt, One Road" to build six major economic corridors, and we must make solid progress. It is necessary to seize the new round of energy structure adjustment and energy technology change trend, build a global energy Internet, and realize green and low-carbon development. It is necessary to improve the construction of cross-regional logistics network. We should also promote the integration of policies, rules and standards, and provide mechanism guarantee for interconnection.

　　Third, we must build the "Belt and Road" into an open road. Openness brings progress, while closure leads to backwardness. For a country, opening up is like breaking a cocoon into a butterfly. Although it will experience temporary pain, it will bring new life. The construction of the "Belt and Road" should be open-oriented and solve the problems of economic growth and balance.

　　We should build an open cooperation platform, maintain and develop an open world economy, jointly create an environment conducive to open development, promote the construction of a fair, reasonable and transparent international economic and trade investment rules system, and promote the orderly flow of production factors, efficient allocation of resources and deep market integration. We welcome countries to actively develop an open economy, participate in global governance and the supply of public goods, and work together to build a broad community of interests in light of their own national conditions.

　　Trade is an important engine of economic growth. We should have an "outward-looking" mind, safeguard the multilateral trading system, promote the construction of free trade zones, and promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. Of course, we should also focus on solving problems such as unbalanced development, governance dilemma, digital divide and distribution gap, and build an open, inclusive, inclusive, balanced and win-win economic globalization.

　　Fourth, we must build the "Belt and Road" into a road of innovation. Innovation is an important force to promote development. The "Belt and Road" construction itself is a pioneering work, and doing a good job in the "Belt and Road" construction must also be driven by innovation.

　　We must persist in innovation-driven development, strengthen cooperation in frontier fields such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and quantum computer, promote the construction of big data, cloud computing and smart cities, and connect them into the digital Silk Road in the 21st century. We should promote the deep integration of science and technology with industry, science and technology with finance, optimize the innovation environment and gather innovative resources. We should create entrepreneurial space and workshops for young people of all countries in the Internet era, and realize the youth dream of the future generation.

　　We should practice the new concept of green development, advocate a green, low-carbon, recycling and sustainable production and life style, strengthen ecological cooperation, build ecological civilization, and jointly achieve the goal of sustainable development in 2030.

　　Fifth, we should build the Belt and Road into a civilized road. The construction of the "Belt and Road" should transcend civilization barriers, civilizations learn from each other, civilizations coexist beyond civilization superiority, and promote mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust among countries.

　　We should establish a multi-level humanities cooperation mechanism, build more cooperation platforms and open up more cooperation channels. It is necessary to promote educational cooperation, expand the scale of exchange of international students, and improve the level of cooperative education. It is necessary to play the role of think tanks and build a think tank alliance and cooperation network. In the fields of culture, sports and health, it is necessary to innovate cooperation models and promote pragmatic projects. It is necessary to make good use of historical and cultural heritage and jointly create tourism products and heritage protection with the characteristics of the Silk Road. We should strengthen exchanges between parliaments, political parties and non-governmental organizations of various countries, and strengthen exchanges between women, youth, disabled people and other groups to promote inclusive development. We must also strengthen international anti-corruption cooperation and make the "Belt and Road" a clean road.

　　Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

　　At present, the development of China is standing at a new starting point. We will thoroughly implement the development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, constantly adapt to, grasp and lead the new normal of economic development, actively promote supply-side structural reform, achieve sustainable development, inject strong impetus into the "Belt and Road" and bring new opportunities for world development.

　　-China is willing to develop friendly cooperation with all participating countries in the Belt and Road Initiative on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China is willing to share its development experience with other countries, but it will not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, export social systems and development models, and will not impose them on others. We will promote the construction of the "Belt and Road" without repeating the old routine of geo-game, but will create a new model of win-win cooperation; Instead of forming a destabilizing clique, we will build a harmonious and coexisting family.

　　-China has reached practical cooperation agreements with many countries on the Belt and Road Initiative, including hardware connectivity projects such as transportation, infrastructure and energy, software connectivity projects such as communications, customs, inspection and quarantine, and cooperation plans and specific projects in various fields such as economy, trade, industry, e-commerce, ocean and green economy. China and the railway departments of relevant countries will sign an agreement to deepen the cooperation between China and Europe. We will promote the early start of these cooperation projects and see early results.

　　-China will increase its financial support for the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, adding 100 billion yuan to the Silk Road Fund and encouraging financial institutions to carry out overseas fund business in RMB, with an estimated scale of about 300 billion yuan. The China National Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank will provide RMB equivalent special loans of 250 billion yuan and 130 billion yuan respectively to support the "Belt and Road" infrastructure construction, production capacity and financial cooperation. We will also cooperate with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the BRICS New Development Bank, the World Bank and other multilateral development institutions to support the "Belt and Road" project, and work with relevant parties to formulate the "Belt and Road" financing guiding principles.

　　-China will actively develop mutually beneficial and win-win economic and trade partnership with the participating countries in the Belt and Road Initiative, promote trade and investment facilitation with relevant countries, build a Belt and Road Initiative free trade network, and help regional and world economic growth. During this forum, China will sign economic and trade cooperation agreements with more than 30 countries and negotiate free trade agreements with relevant countries. China will hold China International Import Expo from 2018.

　　-China is willing to strengthen innovation cooperation with other countries, launch the "One Belt, One Road" action plan for scientific and technological innovation, and carry out four actions: scientific and technological humanities exchange, joint laboratory construction, cooperation in science and technology parks, and technology transfer. In the next five years, we will arrange 2,500 young scientists to come to China to engage in short-term scientific research, train 5,000 scientific, technical and managerial personnel, and put 50 joint laboratories into operation. We will set up an eco-friendly big data service platform, advocate the establishment of the "Belt and Road" international alliance for green development, and provide assistance to relevant countries in coping with climate change.

　　-China will provide 60 billion yuan in aid to developing countries and international organizations involved in the Belt and Road Initiative in the next three years to build more livelihood projects. We will provide 2 billion yuan of emergency food aid to developing countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, increase capital by 1 billion US dollars to the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, and implement 100 "happy homes", 100 "caring for the needy" and 100 "rehabilitation and medical assistance" projects in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative. We will provide 1 billion dollars to relevant international organizations to implement a number of cooperation projects that benefit countries along the route.

　　-China will set up a follow-up contact mechanism for the Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum, a Belt and Road Financial Development Research Center and a Belt and Road Construction Promotion Center, jointly set up a multilateral development and financing cooperation center with multilateral development banks, and establish a capacity building center in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. We will build a cooperation network of non-governmental organizations along the Silk Road, and create a new platform for news cooperation alliance, music education alliance and other humanities cooperation.

　　The "Belt and Road" construction is rooted in the historical soil of the Silk Road, focusing on Asia, Europe and Africa, and is open to all friends. Whether from Asia, Europe, Africa or America, they are all partners in international cooperation in the construction of the "Belt and Road". The construction of the "Belt and Road" will be discussed by everyone, and the achievements of the "Belt and Road" construction will be shared by everyone.

　　Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

　　An old saying in China says, "If you don’t accumulate steps, you won’t be able to travel a thousand miles." The Arabic proverb says, "Pyramids are made of stones". There is also a saying in Europe: "Great achievements were not built in a day". The construction of the "Belt and Road" is a great undertaking and needs great practice. Let’s push forward the implementation step by step, catch the results bit by bit, and benefit the world and the people!

　　I wish this summit forum a complete success!

　　Thank you all.