On September 17, the venue of the 2025 Belt and Road Regional Cooperation Forum was packed with people. At a time when "geopolitical conflicts are intensifying and globalization is facing fragmentation", questions are constantly being asked. Guests at home and abroad listened with bated breath and actively offered suggestions on the current dilemma and solutions for regional cooperation.

Anchoring direction in challenges

"The cloud of the trade war has not gone away, and the industrial and supply chains have been repeatedly impacted. How to achieve a higher level of regional economic integration?" Sun Weidong, Secretary-General of the China-Central Asia Mechanism, asked, expressing the common expectations of all countries. This expectation is especially true now that globalization is encountering countercurrents.

Photo by reporters Lei Tongsu Zhou Can Chen Fei Hu Yuya

Alexander Kopunov, deputy director of Russia's TASS news agency, provided a perspective: "The unipolar model is fading, and inclusive initiatives such as the 'Belt and Road' are building a multipolar dialogue platform." TASS maintains cooperative relationships with 108 news agencies from 94 countries and more than 200 media from 103 countries. He believes that the role of the media in building this new order is immeasurable. Mass media is not only a recorder of events, but also an active participant in influencing the perception of reality.

Alejandro Gomez, deputy director of Cuba's Latin American News Agency, stated more directly: "The 'Belt and Road' initiative promoted by China, as well as the global development initiative, global security initiative, global civilization initiative, especially the recently proposed global governance initiative, are of decisive significance in promoting cooperation and dialogue among civilizations and provide decisive support for dialogue among civilizations. Only joint efforts can build a just order."

Local samples to regional resonance

Viewpoints outline a blueprint for cooperation, and practices from across China fill the blueprint with vivid and tangible details. "Come to Yunnan to realize durian freedom!" As soon as the relevant person in charge of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Commerce finished speaking, the venue burst into laughter. Behind this vivid expression is the hard power support of port construction - the optimized layout of the province's 28 ports and the upgrade of the "single window" for international trade have greatly reduced the transportation costs of Thai durians. The data is more convincing: from January to July this year, Yunnan's import and export of goods trade reached 153.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7%, confirming the vitality of the open economy.

The transformation in agriculture is equally stunning. “Good tea needs to be shared with friends,” the opening remarks of the relevant person in charge of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs were full of enthusiasm. From Baoshan arabica coffee to Pu'er ancient tree tea, from Dounan flowers to Yuxi Chu oranges, Yunnan's "green cloud products" are completing a magnificent transformation: in ten years, the average export price of arabica coffee has tripled, transforming from a "raw material warehouse" into a high-end raw material base for many international brands. This "gift of nature" is a vivid interpretation of regional economic complementarity.

This kind of warmth also exists in the light and shadow of the Chang'an Lantern Festival and the inheritance of Liangzhu culture - the Xi'an Chang'an Lantern Festival has repeatedly gone abroad, and Hangzhou's Yuhang District has promoted the construction of the Liangzhu Cultural Corridor with high standards, relying on platforms such as the National Foreign Cultural Trade Base and the National (Hangzhou) Short Video Base Creation and Operation Center to promote the "three new things" of culture to the world, all of which confirm the powerful power of culture as a link of cooperation.

Samples of cross-regional collaboration are equally inspiring. Tianjin's 25 Luban workshops are spread across 23 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, making vocational education an international public good; Chengdu polishes its business card as the "Starting City of the Southern Silk Road" and activates the contemporary value of the ancient Shu civilization with new scenarios such as cultural tourism and sports events; Yili Group's concept of "letting the world share health" shows the possibility of cooperation in different fields.

Khalid Albarkhali, general manager of Moroccan News Media Group, was deeply touched by this: "China's economic vitality and open attitude have provided development opportunities for North Africa and other regions. This kind of pragmatic cooperation is exactly what the world needs."

Draw a win-win picture through mutual learning

“The sea has no water, so it can become as big as it is.” The ancient Chinese proverb quoted by Alexander Kopunov became the spiritual footnote of the entire forum. Every case and every set of data on the forum responds to the picture of a community with a shared future for mankind in which you are among us and you are among us.

As the forum came to an end, sunlight shone through the glass windows of the venue and fell on the backdrop of "Sharing Media Responsibility and Promoting Mutual Learning among Civilizations." The exchanges between the guests are still continuing: Russia’s TASS news agency is discussing fact-checking cooperation with Chinese media, Latin American news agencies are looking forward to deepening the construction of the “Voices of the Global South” platform, and representatives from Yunnan have extended invitations to people at home and abroad – “Experience a life called Yunnan and discover more stories of cooperation.”

All parties are using practice to prove that although resistance to regional cooperation exists, as long as we break down barriers with openness, build bridges with culture, and put people's livelihood as the foundation, we can gather synergy across national borders.

Yunnan.com reporters Wang Huan Ran Xiulan