C OvER sTORY
O
n May 14 and 15, the Belt and
Road Forum for International
Cooperation, perhaps China’s
highest-profile diplomatic event of the year,
was held in Beijing. The forum was attended
by 30 world leaders and official government
representatives from more than 30 other
countries, as well as representatives from
non-governmental organisations from more
than 130 countries and 70 international or-
ganisations.Belt and Road
First launched in 2013, the Belt and Road
initiative is a signature foreign policy initia-
tive of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The
initiative comprises two components, the
Silk Road Economic Belt (the Belt) and the
21st-century Maritime Silk Road (the Road).
Together, the project aims to create a web of
infrastructure, including roads, railways,
telecommunications, pipelines and seaports,
and to enhance economic interconnectivityand growth in the regions along the Belt and
Road routes.
To facilitate the initiative, China estab-
lished the US$40 billion Silk Road Fund,
which, alongside the multilateral Asian In-
frastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), serve
the two as financial vehicles for infrastructure
projects under the framework of the Belt and
Road initiative.
During the summit, China signed agree-
ments and deals with a total of 68 countriesBelt and Road Forum
From Blueprint to reality?
With a high-profile summit for the Belt and Road initiative, China aims to transform the project into a
multilateral platform which experts say serves to reform the current globalisation model
By Yu Xiaodong
Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs the Leaders’ Roundtable Summit at the Belt and
Road Forum for International Cooperation at Yanqi Lake International Convention
Centre, Beijing, May 15, 2017Photo bycns