CIDCA chairman: China presses ahead with BRI amid pandemic

Luo Zhaohui, chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), delivered a speech at the Sustainable Development Forum 2021 held in Beijing on Sept 27.

Profound changes in the world and the pandemic, both unseen in a century, are intertwined. The international architecture is evolving at a faster pace and international sustainable development is faced with severe challenges, said Luo.

He added that China's initiatives to build a community with a shared future for mankind and jointly build the Belt and Road represent the country's solution to achieving sustainable development and common prosperity for the entire world and provide the international community with major public goods.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which covers both maritime and land trade, connects the West and the East, originates from ancient times and brings numerous benefits to people of all generations, has witnessed the signing of cooperative agreements between China and over 140 countries and over 30 international organizations.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has firmly implemented the BRI, made relentless efforts to ensure the continuity of relevant policies and the persistence of supportive efforts, and achieved lots of results. The symbolic projects on connectivity of infrastructure related to the BRI have been smoothly moving forward, and BRI trade and investment have been improving.

At the same time, the prospect of new industries of digitization and intellectualization is promising, and financial integration and win-win cooperation are deepening, making new contributions to global sustainable development.