The Meeting of the Advisory Council of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation 2021 is Held via Video Link

On December 17, 2021, the Meeting of the Advisory Council of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation 2021 was held via video link. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi addressed at the opening ceremony of the meeting and witnessed the release of the Report from the Meetings of the Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council members spoke highly of President Xi Jinping's important speech at the third symposium on the development of the Belt and Road Initiative and held that the speech demonstrates China's confidence and determination in advancing the Belt and Road cooperation, and serves as a guiding principle for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in the next phase. The Global Development Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by President Xi Jinping are conducive to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The two initiatives complement and reinforce each other and contribute to the common development of the world.

The meeting held that since its inception eight years ago, the BRI has yielded tangible results, boosting global poverty reduction, trade and economic growth. It has become an important international public good and a platform for global economic cooperation guided by an overall vision and featuring cooperation mechanisms and practical projects, and embraces more promising prospects. The BRI has enhanced mutual trust and cooperation among countries, demonstrating China's vision of promoting global connectivity, addressing common challenges faced by the international community and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

The Advisory Council members proposed that BRI cooperative partners should continue to aim at high-standard, sustainable and people-centered growth, and work for higher-standard cooperation, better deliverables from inputs, higher-quality supply and stronger resilience in development. Members of the Advisory Council hopes that under the current circumstances, all parties will continue to synergize the BRI with the development strategies, plans and initiatives of all countries and regions, and promote infrastructure connectivity and cooperation in health, green development, digital, innovation and other fields, injecting stronger impetus into the global fight against the pandemic and economic recovery, especially poverty reduction and development causes in developing countries, and making greater contributions to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Risk prevention and control is an integral part of international cooperation under the BRI. All partner countries should share responsibilities and risks.

During the meeting, the High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Partnership on Connectivity, a Report on the Findings and Recommendations from the Meetings of the Advisory Council of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019 and 2020 was released. Based on the research findings, the report held that the BRI will open up more space for global economic development, provide more opportunities for partner countries to improve people's livelihood, and make greater contributions to creating a better future for mankind by establishing cooperative platforms and carrying out cooperation. A series of policy recommendations on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation were put forward in the report, including implementing high-quality projects, improving Belt and Road cooperation partners network, fostering an open world economy, building green and digital Silk Road, and conducting international cooperation on vaccines, etc.

The Advisory Council is a non-profit and international policy advisory body, with the main function of offering intellectual support for the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Members participate in the Advisory Council's activities in a personal capacity. Current members are Romano Prodi, former Prime Minister of Italy; Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Prime Minister of France; Mikhail Fradkov, former Prime Minister of Russia Federation; Essam Sharaf, former Prime Minister of Egypt; Erastus J. O. Mwencha, former Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission; Shamshad Akhtar, former Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations; Kishore Mahbubani, Professor of the National University of Singapore; Sir Douglas Flint, HM Treasury's Financial and Professional Services Envoy to the Belt and Road Initiative, United Kingdom; Justin Yifu Lin, former Vice President of the World Bank; Mari Elka Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank Group (Special Guest); Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Special Guest). Convener of the Advisory Council and Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu chaired the meeting.