Belt and Road cooperation has entered a new phase of high-quality development, with its outcomes benefiting people from over 150 countries, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, in commenting on an expert report on the role of Belt and Road cooperation in promoting development.
A report released on July 17 by experts from the Green Finance and Development Center at the Fanhai International School of Finance (FISF) at the Shanghai Fudan University and Australia's Griffith University said that China's construction contracts and investments in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) totaled 124 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of the year, higher than the 122-billion-U.S.-dollar full-year figure in 2024, setting an all-time high record.
Regarding the report, media and scholars commented that China's approach to strengthening cooperation with countries involved in the BRI stands in stark contrast to the high tariffs imposed by the United States on its trade partners. Many nations see Belt and Road cooperation as an opportunity to deepen their relations with China.
When asked to comment on the report at a press conference in Beijing, Guo said China is willing to further deepen and consolidate the implementation of Belt and Road cooperation with other countries involved.
"The Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway has served more than 10 million passengers. China-Europe Railway Express has provided over 110 thousand freight train services, and the first ever two-way voyage between Chancay and Shanghai through the new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America has been completed. The installed capacity of photovoltaic power plants jointly built by China and Africa totaled over 1.5 gigawatts. 'Small and beautiful' projects like the Luban Workshops and the juncao technology have led households to a road to prosperity. After the development of more than a decade, and built on the advancements in connectivity, Belt and Road cooperation expands to a platform for trade and industrial cooperation, assisting more countries to integrate into the international industrial chain and safeguarding the stability and resilience of global supply chain," Guo said.
"In Belt and Road cooperation, China follows the principles of 'planning together, building together, and benefiting together,' the philosophy of open, green and clean cooperation, and the goal of pursuing high-standard, people-centered and sustainable cooperation, and is committed to promoting the modernization of all the countries. China is ready to work with all parties to strive for solid progress in pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for common development and a win-win future," he said.
Belt-Road cooperation enters new phase of high-quality development: spokesman
