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May 13-14, 2017 9
COMMENT
OPINION
ChinaDaily
chinadaily.com.cn/opinion
Jean Pierre Raffarin and Xu Gai
A new growth point
for world economy
In Europe, the Belt and Road Initiative does not
get the attention it deserves. However, the history
of the ancient Silk Road has fed our imagination
for centuries. Today, China speaks for reality
while Europe is limiting itself to curiosity. But newly
elected French President Emmanuel Macron can accelerate
Europe’s interest in the initiative.
President Xi Jinping surprised the rest of the world
when he announced the Belt and Road Initiative. As
often happens in China, the idea is the result of a deep
strategic reflection.
China is seeking big markets for its industrial products.
Marginal gains of globalization are shrinking,
and growth needs a new revival. In Asia, this new
revival is called connectivity. By helping the economies
along the Belt and Road routes to develop and
improve their infrastructure, hard and soft, China is
reinforcing its openness and the upgrading of its
manufacturing sector.
The initiative will also help the internationalization
of its currency and, in the long run, the transformation
of its growth toward quality.
Europe should find interest in this. Under the initiative,
cooperation with China on its two aisles, Eurasia
and “Eurafrica”, can allow the European Union to
reach its economic growth and employment targets.
That big geostrategic region must become “a community
of interests, of responsibility and common fate”.
As Premier Li Keqiang has often said, “today, no
nation can succeed alone”. Therefore we must invent
international engaging projects. This perspective is
definitely pacifist. And by serving development and
prosperity, it serves peace.
China’s analysis needs to be studied. In the past, the East
was the place where goods were born, and the West where
they matured. Today, the West is standing still or even
going backward while the East initiates reforms.
Asian dynamics must reach Europe. As a country of
new technologies, France is ready. Its interest is even
more relevant since the United States has become
more unpredictable and is turning toward the Asia-Pacific
region while ignoring Europe.
Eurasia is the future global balancing power. In the
initiative, Europe can find a historical opportunity to
put itself into a more central world position. So, is this
the time to redefine transatlantic relations?
For China, the West-led globalization has created
harsh competitions, partly destructive. It points to civilizations
moving backward, for example, by giving rise
to populism in the West and Brexit. That is why the
election of Macron as French president sends a message
of trust and hope.
Eurasia, marked by great civilizations such as Egyptian,
Babylonian, Greek, Indian and Chinese, can be
the place of rebirth of civilization. And oceans must
again find a place in this civilization.
The Belt and Road Initiative, like other innovative
21st century ideas, is not speculative or virtual. Huge
financial means and multilateral tools have been
invested to give shape to the initiative, which will
reform global governance.
The Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank will
definitely leverage growth for Eurasian economies.
And the initiative, BRICS New Development Bank and
the Silk Road Fund all show that China has the power
to realize its vision.
In the next five years, China will import $10 trillion
worth of goods and invest more than $500 billion
abroad. The current pace is faster than the 13th Five-
Year Plan (2016-20) forecast. For the first time this year,
Chinese investments abroad have exceeded foreign
investments in China.
France is following the initiative with interest, and
must realize that it directly touches its interests and
alliances. This is a great opportunity for the new
French president.
By choosing a message of openness, the French people
have shown they are open to great adventures that
serve development, hence peace.
Jean Pierre Raffarin is former prime minister of
France and president of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs,
Military and Defense Commission, and Xu Gai is his
advisor on China affairs.
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Yang Yanyi
Together we can make a difference
Robert Lawrence Kuhn
Initiative marks transition of grand vision
The Belt and Road
Forum for International
Cooperation
marks a transition of
high symbolism in President
Xi Jinping’s grand vision for a
new era of win-win globalization.
The core idea is to structure,
finance and build critical
infrastructure in developing
economies, as well as diversify
and expand the Chinese economy,
which needs restructuring.
This is the fourth Belt and
Road forum I will attend.
Xi announced the Silk Road
Economic Belt as a “grand
cause benefiting people in
regional countries along the
ancient route” in Kazakhstan in
September 2013. In June 2014, I was
asked to articulate the vision at the first
Belt and Road forum in Urumqi, Northwest
China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous
region. I described five categories:
history, culture, trade, mutual development
and peaceful development.
The second forum was in Quanzhou,
Southeast China’s Fujian province, in
February 2015. It enlarged the vision to
include the 21st Century Maritime Silk
Road, engaging Southeast Asia, South
Asia, the Middle East and East Africa.
The third forum was held in Xi’an,
Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, in
September 2016, with the theme “Shared
Memory, Common Development”.
To comprehend Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative,
one must appreciate globalization,
which is founded on the perennial
law of comparative economic advantage
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber
but which is suffering discontent due to
its differential impact on workers in
Western countries. In a reversal of historic
proportions, China now champions
globalization, while the United States is
now conflicted with “America First” protectionism.
China’s developmental miracle is
founded on globalization, as Chinese
workers made China the low-cost manufacturing
center of the world.
But China’s old model no longer works
— for one, workers must be paid higher
salaries to rebalance severe socio-economic
imbalances. China must develop
new modes of globalization, leveraging
its expertise and experience, especially in
infrastructure construction, which is just
what the developing economies need for
their development.
The initiative is to expand links
between Asia, Africa and Europe, and
thus reduce imbalances in national
development and promote global economic
growth. It focuses on projects such
as high-speed railways. Development
comes first, China believes; nothing good
can happen without economic growth.
The Beijing forum seeks consensus on
major cross-regional projects, especially
networks of roads, railways and shipping.
At the Xi’an forum, I chaired a session
(on the media), which was held at precisely
the same time as the first debate
between US presidential candidates
Donald Trump and Hillary
Clinton.
“One hundred years from
today,” I began, “when the history
of our times is written, our forum
on the Belt and Road (Initiative)
will carry more significance than
the Trump-Clinton debate.”
I was joking in one sense, but
not in another. Why is the initiative
so significant?
From the global perspective,
poverty, under-development, and
vast inequalities are deep, seemingly
intractable problems — and
economic development, catalyzed
by infrastructure construction,
is an essential part of the
solutions.
From China’s perspective, after
decades of remarkable growth, economic
transformation is necessary, and
this includes geographical rebalancing
within China and expanding China’s
trade by enhancing globalization.
All of these can be achieved by the initiative,
but only if formulated synergistically
and implemented assiduously.
There are substantial challenges, of
course — economic, financial, structural,
political instability, nationalism, terrorism
and, in certain circles, suspicion of
China’s motives.
But for sure, the world has great need
and China has a grand plan in the Belt
and Road Initiative.
The author is a public intellectual, political/economics
commentator, and international
corporate strategist.
Building a bridge to our common future
The Belt and Road Forum for
International Cooperation to
be held in Beijing on Sunday
and Monday will see the participation
of some 1,500 officials, scholars,
entrepreneurs from more than 130
countries, and representatives from more
than 70 international organizations. Of
the 29 heads of state and government
who will participate in the forum, quite a
few are from Europe. European Commission
Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, too,
will take part in the forum.
At a time when the global economic
recovery is still sluggish, trade and investment
remains weak, and growth impetus
unstable, the forum offers an excellent
opportunity to review the gains and,
more importantly, to build a closer and
stronger partnership.
China and the European Union share
much in common in pursuing shared
growth, development and connectivity,
including through the Belt and Road Initiative,
and have come up with a proud
record so far.
At the 17th China-EU Summit in 2015,
China and the EU agreed to synergize the
initiative and the Investment Plan for
Europe. China and some EU countries
have signed inter-governmental cooperation
agreements and launched a Belt and
Road working group mechanism to jointly
advance the initiative. Also, China and
16 Central and Eastern European countries
have worked closely to enhance
cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative
and the 16+1 framework.
As concrete steps to promote seamless
traffic flows, China and the EU signed an
MOU for the establishment of a “Connectivity
Platform”. China has launched railway
freight service to some European
countries. And cooperation in such areas
as railways, ports, airports, power, transportation
and logistics has gathered
momentum.
The two sides are also working
together to deepen dialogue and cooperation
in information and communications
technology.
To develop practical financial avenues
for mutually beneficial cooperation, China
and the EU agreed to set up a co-investment
fund. And early this year,
China became the 67th member of the
European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development.
The Beijing forum has now raised the
two sides’ interest in exploring potential
areas of cooperation to create fresh energy
for pursuing interconnected development.
To contribute to the ongoing
efforts and deliberations, here are my
suggestions.
First, the Belt and Road Initiative is
The Belt and Road Forum for
International Cooperation in
Beijing is a milestone in the
development of China’s Belt
and Road Initiative, a historic effort to
transform the economies along the two
routes, strengthen links between them
and better connect them to the rest of
the world. The United Arab Emirates
strongly supports the initiative, which
will foster economic growth and security
both regionally and globally.
Substantial progress has been made
since President Xi Jinping announced
the initiative in 2013. During this period,
China has directly invested more than
$50 billion and helped establish the
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank —
a new multilateral institution designed
to finance vital public works in Asia’s
emerging economies. The UAE is a
founding member of the AIIB and committed
to its central mission of bringing
the Belt and Road Initiative vision to life.
China’s approach to economic development
mirrors our own. We share the
same core beliefs in the essential connection
between trade, peace and prosperity.
For both our peoples, these beliefs
go beyond stated principles to concrete
actions, best expressed by the strength
of our bilateral trade, which has grown
dramatically — almost 800 times, in the
three decades since we established formal
relations — from $63 million in
1984 to more than $50 billion in 2016.
Our cultural and economic ties with
China go back centuries. But today’s
trade spans multiple sectors, with one of
the most important being energy.
Recognizing that energy demand in
the economies along the Belt and Road
routes will grow by 50 percent by 2040,
both China and the UAE have made strategic
co-investment in this sector. China
National Petroleum Corp and China
Energy recently took a minority share in
the UAE’s onshore oil reserves, beginning
a partnership with the Abu Dhabi
National Oil Company that will secure oil
LI MIN / CHINA DAILY
supplies for decades and ease market
access for essential and higher value
products throughout the region.
ADNOC’s petrochemical company,
Borouge, is celebrating seven years of
operations in China during which the
trading volume has quadrupled. Borouge
is gearing up for market growth
both within China and in the economies
along the Belt and Road routes, where
demand for petrochemicals and plastic,
including essential utility piping and
cable insulation, is expected to more
than double by 2040.
At the pivot point between Asia,
Europe and Africa, the UAE is ideally
located as a logistical hub that can facilitate
trade to and from the economies
along the Belt and Road routes. DP
World’s Jebel Ali Port is the largest in the
Middle East and Abu Dhabi Ports Company
is one of the fastest growing. Last
year, Abu Dhabi Ports Company partnered
with China’s shipping giant COS-
CO to build a new terminal at Khalifa
guided by the spirit of openness and
constructive cooperation. Given the rising
protectionist and anti-globalization
sentiments in many parts of the world,
it is in our interest that China and the
EU stay committed to free trade and
economic openness, a rules-based,
transparent and fair international trading
regime and order, and open up markets,
oppose protectionism and secure
greater connectivity and economic
development and prosperity.
Second, the initiative is a win-win formula.
The notion that this project is
designed to enable China to access new
markets, which will pose a challenge,
even “threat”, to the future of Europe is
wrong, as it neglects the fresh perspectives
it will bring to European integration.
Being open, transparent, harmonious and
inclusive, the initiative is an invitation to
all economies along the Belt and Road
routes to build synergies between their
development strategies and the initiative,
explore cooperation, and share the benefits
of the projects.
Third, it is time that China and the
EU capitalized on the new opportunities
offered by the initiative. Among others,
China wishes to broaden policy
coordination and advance cooperation
consensus through an institutionalized
dialogue mechanism, more closely collaborate
on concrete projects within the
China-EU Connectivity Platform, work
closely to explore ways and means of
joint financing and initiating projects,
and deepen China-EU legal affairs dialogue
with a view to creating a favorable
environment for business.
We are more than ready to add new
dimensions to our cooperation with the
EU. For instance, given that China is
transforming its economic development
model based on innovation, and innovation
remains essential to European integration,
we should make deepening
cooperation in science and technology
and innovation our top priority.
And fourth, we hope that at the Beijing
forum and the 19th China-EU Summit,
China and the EU will send out this
positive message: as the two parties
vital to the maintenance of world peace
and promotion of common development
and shared destiny, China and the
EU will shoulder the shared responsibility
of promoting the construction of a
more fair, reasonable and balanced
global governance system based on
openness, inclusiveness and win-win
cooperation, and that together we can
make a difference.
The author is the head of the Chinese
Mission to the European Union.
Port that will double cargo capacity, further
expanding the flow of commerce
among the economies along the Belt
and Road routes and the world’s other
major trading blocs. As many economies
along the two routes look to extend their
footprint in Africa, the UAE represents a
natural nexus for developing mutually
beneficial trading links.
The 65 economies along the two routes
account for 30 percent of global GDP. By
2040, they will account for almost twothirds,
thereby becoming the world’s
most significant driver of economic
growth. Making the right investments
now will ensure this growth remains sustainable
and more evenly spread.
In short, the success of the Belt and
Road Initiative can provide the foundation
for a more secure, prosperous and
progressive future for the world.
The author is a minister of state in the
United Arab Emirates and ADNOC
Group CEO.