Stories of High-Quality Development | The Belt and Road Initiative: An international public good with Chinese wisdom

In 2013, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, proposed the groundbreaking Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Based on the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, Belt and Road cooperation transcends differences between civilizations, cultures, social systems and stages of development. It has opened a new path for exchanges among countries and established a new framework for international cooperation. It represents humanity's joint pursuit of development for all.

"The BRI has promoted China's development while benefiting the world. In a world facing increasing uncertainties and instabilities, the initiative's contemporary value and global significance are becoming ever more prominent," said Wu Hongliang, director general of the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, when hosting People's Daily's video series "Stories of High-Quality Development," adding that it responds to the call of the times and benefits the peoples in participating countries.

The BRI has become the world's largest, most extensive and most influential international economic cooperation platform.

"BRI cooperation focuses on building economic corridors and international transport routes, and is carried out through concrete project cooperation. It has gradually achieved integrated connectivity across land, sea, air, and cyberspace," said Wu. The China-Europe freight train service has become a flagship project and a signature brand of the BRI, driving cooperation at greater speed.

"The China-Europe freight trains are like a 'logistics internet,' making trade between Asia and Europe more efficient," Nursulu Zholbaskanova, general manager of TERRAcont International Logistics Co., Ltd. (Xi'an), told People's Daily Online. Hailing from Kazakhstan, Zholbaskanova chose to start her business in Xi'an, an important hub for the China-Europe freight train service, in 2021. "As an international company specializing in cross-border container logistics between Asia and Europe, we benefit greatly from the increased frequency and stable operation of these services. It costs only a quarter of air freight and delivers goods two-thirds faster than sea transport. China–Europe freight trains are a vital driver of my company's development, " she explained.

"Currently, a train arrives or departs every 80 minutes, 20 minutes faster than last year. Key indicators such as the number of trains, freight volume and the ratio of loaded containers have consistently ranked first nationwide," said Qi Chao, deputy head of the Multimodal Transport Section at China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd.'s Freight Transport Department.

China has signed BRI cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations. The BRI is also closely aligned with the national development strategies of many countries, creating diverse, multilevel channels of communication across multiple platforms and participants.

According to Wu, the BRI regards mutual people-to-people connections as a vital foundation and has steadily advanced cooperation mechanisms in culture, tourism, education and beyond. It encourages grassroots interactions, creating a vibrant and diverse landscape of people-to-people exchanges. At the same time, cooperation in new areas is steadily progressing. Responding to the new trends of global development, China and its partners are actively establishing new bilateral and multilateral platforms for cooperation in fields such as green development and innovation.

BRI cooperation embodies valuable Chinese wisdom.

According to Wu, BRI cooperation promotes peaceful development, highlights openness, practices equality and emphasizes mutual benefit, representing valuable Chinese wisdom. "BRI cooperation pursues development, values win-win outcomes, and inspires hope," he said.

Financial integration offers crucial support to BRI cooperation. In 2024, following a call for tenders from the South African government, PowerChina signed a contract for the Oasis 1 battery energy storage systems projects. Once the projects are completed, they will store 1,000 MWh of electricity, enough to meet the daily power needs of 100,000 households.

For a long time, it was nearly impossible for Chinese companies to participate in energy projects like this in South Africa. But this time, the situation has changed, said Shen Hua, general manager of the Trade Finance Department, Bank of China Johannesburg Branch.

"PowerChina's selection as contractor depended on financial backing from the Bank of China," Shen said. The bank acts as a credit guarantor, issuing guarantees that comply with South African market practices to secure PowerChina's contract fulfillment. This helps companies overcome entry barriers by ensuring contractors can receive advance payments and proceed with construction while reducing risks for project owners and enhancing the professional image of Chinese companies in international projects.

Each fund serves as a booster for turning China-South Africa BRI cooperation from vision into reality, contributing to the synergy between the BRI and South Africa's Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. "This project will light up numerous households across the 'Rainbow Nation'," Shen said.

BRI has promoted China's development while benefiting the world.

Over the past 12 years, the BRI has delivered tangible benefits to participating countries, injected new vitality into the global economy, offered new approaches to improving global governance, and pooled civilizational strength for the progress of human society.

In a world facing increasing uncertainties and instabilities, the initiative's contemporary value and global significance are becoming ever more prominent, said Wu.

China's humble Juncao technology has gone global, becoming a "grass of happiness" and "grass of prosperity" that boosts people's livelihoods. The Brightness Action program, which offers free cataract surgeries, has restored sight to patients in Belt and Road countries. Gambian farmer Musa Darboe traveled over 12,000 kilometers to present a bag of hybrid rice grown in Africa at the tomb of Yuan Longping, China's late "father of hybrid rice." Belt and Road projects are grounded in the needs of the people.

In 2016, Thailand's Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Technical College and Tianjin Bohai Vocational Technical College jointly established the Luban Workshop in Thailand, China's first overseas Luban Workshop. To date, the workshop has trained more than 2,000 technical professionals in Thailand and supported more than 460 Thai students studying in China.

According to Nitinun Chomchuen, a teacher at Tianjin Bohai Vocational Technical College, Luban Workshop graduates who have studied at Tianjin Bohai Vocational Technical College as international students are highly sought after in the job market because they master advanced technical skills and the Chinese language. Many of them choose to work in Chinese-funded companies in Thailand. Their salary, in general, is higher than the average level of local vocational school graduates. "This directly improves the economic situations of the students and their families, reflecting how the BRI enhances people's livelihoods," she says.

Looking ahead, China will follow the eight major steps for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to comprehensively enhance the quality and efficiency of practical cooperation and deepen institutional and systematic development, thus ensuring steady and sustained progress in high-quality BRI cooperation.

From advancing physical connectivity via infrastructure to facilitating institutional connectivity through standards and rules and building emotional connections among people, China will continue to grow while integrating with the world, driving global progress through its own development. China is willing to work with all parties, always standing on the right side of history and on the side of human progress. It is devoted to making the BRI a path to global well-being and contributing more to building a community with a shared future for humanity, Wu said.