China.org.cn | November 2, 2023
Shou Xiaoli:
Thank you, Mr. Luo. The floor is now open to questions. Please identify the media outlets you represent before raising your questions.
Hong Kong Bauhinia Magazine:
Foreign assistance is one of the pillars underpinning high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. China recently successfully held the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. What work has the CIDCA done to promote the BRI? Thank you.
Deng Boqing:
Thank you. The past decade has been a journey of fruitful outcomes. Foreign assistance has played an instrumental role in Belt and Road cooperation, which can be summarized in the following way:
We have strengthened strategic planning. We have synergized development plans and strategies with the BRI participating countries and provided extensive technical consulting services. Our focus has been on areas such as infrastructure connectivity, the standardization of international production capacity and equipment manufacturing, trade facilitation, and technical standardization. In addition, we have designed signature foreign assistance projects and "small yet smart" livelihood programs.
We have supported global anti-pandemic cooperation. In the battle against COVID-19, the most serious pandemic in a century, China provided a substantial amount of anti-pandemic materials and vaccines to nearly all major BRI partners. China has implemented an action plan to support anti-pandemic cooperation with neighboring countries and established the China-South Asia Emergency Supplies Reserve. On the basis of effectively controlling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in neighboring countries, we have worked diligently to prevent both imported cases and domestic resurgences. Additionally, the China-aided Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has become the largest public health institution in Africa. China has supported various countries in the construction of medical facilities and laboratories, provided medical equipment, and offered medical assistance in the prevention and control of malaria, schistosomiasis, and poliomyelitis.
We have promoted major projects. China has focused on six corridors, six connectivity routes, and multiple countries and ports, as well as supported the construction of major strategic projects along key trunk lines and junctions. China has supported the building of the New Gwadar International Airport, the Gwadar Eastbay Expressway, and a desalination plant in Pakistan, along with the roads, bridges, and tunnels in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. We have also worked on the resettlement village and railway vocational technical college for the construction of the China-Laos Railway, the road and infrastructure restoration projects in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and the upgrading and expansion of airports and ports in countries in Africa and Latin America. These achievements are the result of the efforts and hard work of Chinese people engaged in global assistance initiatives.
We have built a brand matrix. Global forums like the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation, and the Sunshine Forum on International Development Cooperation have become crucial platforms for fostering extensive consensus and promoting shared development, gaining significant global influence. Notable foreign assistance programs related to Juncao technology for mushroom farming, the use of artemisinin in treating malaria, hybrid rice growing, and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development have garnered widespread recognition worldwide. Furthermore, we have released a book titled "Rose Stories Along the Belt and Road,” which provides an authentic and amicable perspective on stories about the assistance China has provided to countries along the Belt and Road. These books have been widely appreciated and shared by many countries.
The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully convened, yielding over 30 outcomes related to foreign assistance, including 1,000 small-scale livelihood assistance projects. We are committed to diligently implementing these outcomes and continuing to make unique contributions to high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Thank you.