Wang Yiming

In December 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the fourth symposium on the construction of the "Belt and Road" work to improve the mechanism for promoting high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and proposed to focus on promoting the construction of the "nine mechanisms". This is a major deployment made to jointly build the "Belt and Road" in the future period, pointing out the direction for promoting the steady and long-term development of the "Belt and Road" with high-quality joint construction and providing strategic guidance.

Since General Secretary Xi Jinping pioneered the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative in 2013, the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has transformed from concepts to actions, from China's initiative to international practice, from "hard connectivity" to "soft connectivity" and "heart connectivity", and from planning maps to real scene maps. As the first global, large-scale and all-round international economic cooperation initiative proposed by my country after the reform and opening up, the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has become the world's largest, most extensive and most influential international economic cooperation platform, and has made China's contribution to promoting the industrialization and modernization of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road".

01

Improving the promotion mechanism is of great significance

At present, the external environment continues to undergo profound and complex changes, and the world enters a new period of turbulent and change. At the same time, the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has entered a stage of high-quality development, and the new space for win-win development with higher levels, more resilient and more sustainable is urgently required to improve the mechanism for promoting the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road".

First of all, improving the promotion mechanism is an objective need for the higher level of development of the "Belt and Road". The new stage of high-quality development puts forward higher requirements for the joint construction of the "Belt and Road". It is necessary to consolidate the foundation of connectivity and cooperation, steadily expand cooperation in emerging fields such as green, innovative, and digital, and improve the quality of cooperation. Improving the mechanism for promoting high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" will help achieve higher cooperation levels, higher investment efficiency, and higher quality of development, and create a brighter future for jointly building the "Belt and Road".

Secondly, improving the promotion mechanism is an inherent requirement for jointly building the "Belt and Road" to enhance development resilience. Promoting the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" is a pioneering undertaking and will inevitably encounter various risks and challenges. At present, unilateralism and protectionism are rising significantly, local conflicts and turmoil are frequent, and uncertain, unstable and unpredictable factors are increasing. Only by improving the mechanism for promoting high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" can all countries be encouraged to work together to meet challenges, improve their ability to respond, and promote high-level security in the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road".

Thirdly, improving the promotion mechanism is a fundamental measure to jointly build the "Belt and Road" to achieve sustainable development. The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" is a long-term, cross-border and systematic century-long project. The construction of mechanisms is fundamental, overall, stable and long-term for the joint construction of the "Belt and Road". Only by improving the mechanism for promoting high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" can we transform cooperation agreements into co-construction actions, transform short-term cooperation projects into long-term development driving force, and promote sustainable common prosperity.

02

Focus on building and improving the implementation of the "nine mechanisms"

In the future, in order to improve the mechanism for promoting high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road", we must focus on the "nine mechanisms", continuously improve the top-level design, formulate pragmatic measures, and implement them effectively.

First, improve the coordinated management mechanism for the joint construction of the "Belt and Road". Rule docking is the cornerstone of the high-quality development of jointly building the "Belt and Road". my country has signed cooperation documents on jointly building the "Belt and Road" with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations, and has cooperated with some countries to formulate plans and draw a blueprint for co-construction. In the next step, we must establish a coordinated management and work coordination mechanism, jointly promote the implementation of the plan, strengthen communication and coordination in the fields of policies, laws, supervision, etc., and promote the docking and effective implementation of rules.

Second, improve the coordination and promotion mechanism of "hard China Unicom", "soft China Unicom" and "heart China Unicom". Connectivity is the core of jointly building the "Belt and Road". To build a smoother and more efficient interconnection and cooperation mechanism, we must coordinate the deepening of the "hard connectivity" of infrastructure, the "soft connectivity" of regulation and standards, and the "heart connectivity" of the people of the country, especially to make up for the shortcomings of "soft connectivity" and "heart connectivity", strengthen the docking of regulatory standards, and pay more attention to the construction of "small but beautiful" people's livelihood projects to ensure that the projects meet the requirements of economic feasibility and social environmental sustainability.

Third, improve the pragmatic cooperation mechanism for the industrial chain and supply chain. Improving industrial chain and supply chain cooperation is an important way to deepen and practically jointly build the "Belt and Road". We should deepen industrial division of labor, promote win-win cooperation, and actively promote the construction of a more open and inclusive industrial chain and supply chain cooperation system.

Fourth, improve the mechanism for international exchanges and cooperation in emerging fields. Cooperation in emerging fields is a new growth point for jointly building the "Belt and Road". We must improve cooperation mechanisms in emerging fields such as digital, green, and innovation. Strengthen cooperation in the construction of digital infrastructure such as 5G, cloud computing, and data centers, promote cooperation in cross-border e-commerce, smart cities, distance education, etc., and build a data sharing and protection mechanism. Promote green infrastructure, clean energy and environmentally friendly technologies, and build a green standard system. Establish a multinational scientific research platform and innovation ecosystem to provide support for jointly building a national industrial technology upgrade.

Fifth, improve the diversified guarantee mechanism for investment and financing. The diversification of investment and financing aims to broaden the investment and financing channels for jointly building the "Belt and Road". In addition to intergovernmental loans and bank financing, we actively expand domestic and foreign bond financing, equity financing, cross-border syndicated loans, PPP (government and social capital cooperation), and investment in international financial institutions, promote the construction of currency swap and cross-border payment systems, and provide sufficient and stable financial support for the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" project.

Sixth, improve the internal and external coordination mechanism for risk prevention and control. Risk prevention and control is the security guarantee for jointly building the "Belt and Road". It is necessary to establish and improve a risk assessment system, identify potential risks in a timely manner and warn; improve emergency response mechanisms, comprehensively improve emergency response capabilities; promote the construction of a transnational security cooperation network, and strengthen the cooperation between the country in the fields of counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, public health, etc.

Seventh, improve the overseas interest protection mechanism. With the increase in overseas investment in the "Belt and Road" initiative, the urgency of protecting overseas interests is becoming increasingly apparent. It is necessary to strengthen overseas asset statistics and supervision, establish an overseas interest security early warning and monitoring system, and improve the policy system, risk prevention and control system, legal guarantee system and security force system for overseas interest protection.

Eighth, improve the high-level international communication mechanism. High-level international communication determines the influence and appeal of jointly building the "Belt and Road". Under the new circumstances, we must build a Chinese discourse and narrative system, promote the global, regional and segmented expression of China's international communication, enhance the appeal and effectiveness of international communication, and tell the world a good story of jointly building the "Belt and Road".

Ninth, improve the cooperation mechanism of the Silk Road on the Integrity. Establish a comprehensive transparency improvement mechanism, strengthen international anti-corruption cooperation, and establish an efficient information sharing and law enforcement cooperation mechanism. At the same time, strengthen corporate compliance awareness, improve compliance system, and safeguard the good reputation and long-term interests of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative.

Take advantage of the trend of history and go to the right path on earth to achieve far. On the new journey, we will improve the mechanism for promoting high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and continuously expand the win-win development space of the "Belt and Road" and make greater contributions to promoting the modernization of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" countries and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

(The author is the vice chairman of the China International Economic Exchange Center)

Director-General Producer丨Wang Liejunche Haigang

Producer丨Chen Bo, Wang Yu, Yang Yuyang

Editor-in-chief丨Mao JinghuiEditor丨Gu Yun