Liu Yunshan: 16+1 mechanism achieves fruitful results under B&R Initiative

Visiting senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Liu Yunshan said in Prague on July 18 that the 16+1 cooperation mechanism has achieved fruitful results under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Addressing the 2017 China Investment Forum held in Prague, Liu said 16+1 mechanism has promoted connectivity in policy, infrastructure, trade, financing and people-to-people exchanges between China and 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

The China-CEE 16+1 mechanism is a platform created in April 2012 by China and 16 CEE countries.

Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, held in Beijing in May, pointed out a bright prospect for the initiative by setting forth the Silk Road Spirit, which features peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefits.

The speech also gave a strong boost to deepening and expanding the cooperation under the 16+1 cooperation mechanism, Liu added.

He called on all sides to seize the opportunity to integrate their development strategies, strengthen practical cooperation, push forward major projects and deepen people-to-people exchanges in order to further consolidate political mutual trust, expand cooperation and open a new chapter for the development of the 16+1 cooperation mechanism.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka also attended the opening ceremony of the 2017 China Investment Forum, hailing the Belt and Road Initiative as the most important one in the world at current times.

Sobotka said the Czech Republic fully supports and participates in the Belt and Road Initiative, and stands ready to act as a pioneer in promoting the initiative as well as the 16+1 cooperation mechanism.

"We believe the Belt and Road Initiative will achieve great success," Sobotka said, adding that the Czech Republic hopes to make itself a regional shipping center and a transportation hub under the initiative, so as to contribute to promoting the cooperation between China and the CEE.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.