(May 15, 2017)

Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China

Dear Colleagues,

We’ ve had an in- depth exchange of views on Connectivity Cooperation for Interconnected Development and reached important consensus.

We all support giving priority to connectivity in developing Belt and Road international cooperation. It is our common view that connectivity will break bottlenecks hampering economic growth and get relevant industries moving and that connectivity plays a significant role in strengthening the driving force of economic growth and improving people’s livelihood in countries involved. We all hope to see an interconnected transportation network that can help unlock our respective comparative advantages and growth potential with a view to achieving interconnected development. As some countries have indicated, connectivity will turn “landlocked countries” into “land- linked” ones. This is one of the goals that we are working for.

We will improve infrastructure connectivity networks. From various perspectives, we briefed each other on our respective policy practices in building transportation arteries and shared views and proposals on how to get major infrastructure projects going and done. I can tell that all  of us are firmly committed to infrastructure connectivity cooperation. Our confidence is strong. Our goals are clear. Our measures are solid. As our next step, we will continue focusing on the development of the six major international economic cooperation corridors, i.e. New Eurasia Land Bridge, China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor, China- Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor. In the meantime, we should also press ahead with key projects in other areas and put in  place  an improved integrated information network that covers railways, highways, shipping, aviation, oil and gas, and aerospace industry. With all such projects, we will have an all-dimensional connectivity network.

We will make further efforts to enhance “soft connectivity” of policy, regulation and standards. Some of  you shared with us your experience and best practices in expedited customs clearance and international transport facilitation. They are very useful indeed. In the course of  the forum, many countries have reached consensus on deepening cooperation in customs, quarantine inspection and transportation, and some have signed agreements on China-Europe rail freight services. We will build on themomentum to deepen our cooperation and establish a mechanism for customs clearance cooperation between countries along the Belt and Road. We will follow through on the action plan for standards connectivity, and promote all-round cooperation in such areas as information exchange, mutual recognition of regulations and mutual assistance in law enforcement.

We will fully leverage the leading and catalyzing effect of connectivity on the growth of the real economy. Some of you mentioned the development of China-Belarus Industrial Park, Sihanoukville Port Special Economic Zone and Gwadar Port Free Zone. These projects feature government guidance, enterprise decision-making and commercial operation. Their success tells us that if we follow the same approach, start pilot project in a given area and then apply its successful practices to other projects or areas, we will be able to translate our vision of cooperation into reality and deliver tangible benefits to our people. We will build on the strength of  these economic corridors  to launch economic, trade and industrial cooperation zones and grow the real economy. We  will work together to raise the level of trade and  investment liberalization and facilitation and develop international cooperation on industrial capacity and equipment manufacturing. We will launch a series of business cooperation projects that are based on huge market demand and generate a positive ripple effect, boosting trade creation, investment promotion and industrial clustering at the same time.

We support the development of stable financial connectivity and cooperation of diverse forms. Wetake note of the huge financing demand in connectivity cooperation and agree to jointly expand financing channels and establish a stable financial guarantee system. We will continue to support a bigger role of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund. We will open our financial market wider to each other and encourage our commercial banks to establish branches  in each other’s countries. We will step up cooperation in payment systems, including internet finance, and bilateral currency swap and settlement, promote exchanges between financial regulatory agencies and encourage development finance institutions to play a bigger role.

Dear Colleagues,

For our countries to achieve all-round connectivity, we first need to think on the same wavelength. This is what today’s meeting is all about. If we can translate what we have agreed today into tangible action on the ground,   that will greatly contribute to re-connectivity across the Eurasian continent and make greater connectivity between regions possible. That will also give rise to more industrial belts, new drivers of growth and more economic circles, bringing about interconnected development and injecting strong impetus into global economic growth.