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Correspondent
At the beginning of the new year, China signed MOUs with the Philippines and Turkmenistan to cooperate on the Belt and Road Initiative (the BRI), which fully demonstrates that the BRI is in line with the historical trend of economic globalisation and the requirements of the times for changes in the global governance system.
The BRI has remained resilient and vigorous, and continues to offer new opportunities for the world.
Opening-up is China’s fundamental national policy, and also the hallmark of contemporary China. President Xi Jinping stressed that “Openness enables a country to move forward, while seclusion holds it back”.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has firmly adhered to a win-win strategy of opening-up, and formed a new pattern of all-round opening-up in various fields and sectors.
The process of promoting the high-quality development of the BRI is a process of promoting a high level of opening-up to the outside world. the BRI has now become an open and global cooperation platform that transcends geographical limitations, breaks through cultural differences and integrates development needs, and will make a solid contribution to the recovery of the world’s economy.
To date, the BRI has been fruitful and has become a popular international public product and platform for international cooperation, covering two-thirds of the world’s countries and one-third of international organisations.
China has been deeply integrated into a new and huge international system, and has formed a pattern of opening up to the outside world on a wider scale, in a broader field and at a deeper level.
The deepest international context for the BRI is contemporary globalisation.
Today, the peace deficit, development deficit, security deficit and governance deficit are intensifying, and human society is facing unprecedented common challenges. 2022 has seen the world in turmoil and conflict, and the western countries, led by the United States, have launched a collective competition directly against the BRI.
In response to these challenges, China has proposed Global Security Initiative, Global Development Initiative and Global Civilisation Initiative, and has incorporated the BRI and its core concept of “shared responsibility” into relevant documents of the United Nations, the G20, APEC and other regional organisations.
To date, China has signed more than 200 BRI cooperation documents with 151 countries including Zimbabwe and 32 international organizations, covering investment, trade, finance, science, society, humanity, people’s livelihood and other fields.
The BRI has galvanised nearly US$1 trillion of investment, established more than 3,000 cooperation projects, created 420,000 local jobs, and helped lift almost 40 million people out of poverty.
For example, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway adds more than two percentage points to local economic growth. Luban workshops help young people in over 20 countries acquire vocational skills.
At the same time, the establishment of multilateral development institutions and international cooperation platforms, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund, has also pushed the global governance system towards a more just and rational direction.
As of May 2022, China’s non-financial direct investment with countries along the Belt and Road has exceeded US$140 billion, 55,493 China-EU trains have carried 4.8 million TEUs of goods, and mutual recognition agreements for certified operators (AEO) have been signed with 32 countries and regions.
With the help of the China-EU BTL, China and its BRI partners have a new artery for bringing into play the complementary advantages of each other’s economies and enhancing their development.
With the strategic guidance of the two leaders of China and Zimbabwe, cooperation between the two countries under the two initiatives has beard fruitful results.
In 2018, China and Zimbabwe signed a MOU on the BRI. Over the past five years, the in-depth cooperation between the two countries has been profound and fruitful.
On policy coordination, China firmly supports Zimbabwe in the attainment of Vision 2030 and NDS1 and closely coordinates with Zimbabwe in determining the priorities for bilateral cooperation.
China also shares its experience in state governance with Zimbabwe.
Since 2016, China and Zimbabwe have conducted annual exchange visits for macroeconomic policy coordination and training courses.
This year, we will continue to invite Zimbabwean economic officials to visit China and exchange opinions there.
On facilities connectivity, the well-known New Parliament Building, National Pharmaceutical Warehouse, the High-Performance Computing Centre and 1000 Borehole Drilling Project are aided by China.
The Victoria Falls International Airport Upgrading Project, the RGM International Airport Expansion Project, Kariba South Power Station Expansion Project, Hwange Power Station Expansion Project Unit 7&8 and Phase III of Netone’s mobile broadband upgrade are supported by China’s concessional loans.
These major infrastructure projects promote Zimbabwe’s development and make life better for its people.
The Hwange Power Station Unit 7 has been successfully synchronised with the national grid and started to generate electricity, effectively easing the power shortage in Zimbabwe.
On financial integration, as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Frederick Shava point out, from 2019 to 2022, Zimbabwe has attracted US$2.3 billion of direct investment from China, accounting for 76% of total FDI in the same period.
Chinese enterprises have invested in sectors such as iron and steel, lithium, tobacco, crop farming, building materials manufacturing, and freight logistics, and so on.
These investments revitalize resources that were long idled by western companies, and introduce Zimbabwe’s high-quality products into international markets.
They also bring Zimbabwe more than US$50 million of tax revenues, more than 50,000 job opportunities as well as technology transfers and good practices in management.
Chinese enterprises actively perform the corporate social responsibility and serve local people by making donations, building schools, hospitals, roads, and drilling boreholes etc.
On unimpeded trade, with the concerted efforts of governments and enterprises of China and Zimbabwe, our trade volume in 2022 increased by 29% to US$2.42 billion, with US$170 million of surplus for Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean citrus will soon make its way to the Chinese market.
The “green lanes” for Zimbabwean agricultural products including blueberry and dried chill are beckoning.
On people-to-people bond, more than 5 000 government officials and technicians have been invited to attend training courses organized by China, and around 300 have studied in China.
China is proud of training these talents who contribute to the development of Zimbabwe.
In the near future, more China-aid projects including the High-Performance Computing Centre Phase II and the Anti-Narcotics Laboratory will be commissioned.
All these China-aid projects will deliver tangible benefits to Zimbabwe and its people.
China’s practice of promoting the high-quality development of the BRI shows that China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a defender of international order and a provider of public goods.
10 years is a new beginning for the BRI.
A new beginning. In the future, the BRI will embark on a new journey in the practice of international cooperation on a larger scale, at a higher level and at a deeper level, and move forward towards sustainable development together with the BRI partner members.
We will work together with our partner members to achieve mutual cooperation, complementary cooperation and interaction, and demonstrate the role of a responsible power in promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Online Reporter