Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- China will continue to facilitate market access, deepen reforms, enter into free trade agreements and investment protection agreements with more countries, implement joint projects within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), promote employment of local people and economic growth. This was stated by the Chinese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Yu Jun.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the BRI initiative. From 17 to 18 October, the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully held in Beijing, in which representatives of 151 countries and 41 international organizations, including heads of state and government from more than 20 countries, were present, and the total number of registered persons exceeded 10 thousand.

The Chinese Ambassador noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping announced 8 steps to support the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road, namely:

form an interconnected transport network within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative;

support the development of an open world economy;

develop practical cooperation;

promote green development;

stimulate technological innovation;

build up cultural and humanitarian ties;

build an “honest path”;

improve the mechanism of international cooperation.

“These measures have outlined new directions, given new impetus to cooperation, bringing the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative to a new stage of high-quality development, and caused a positive strong reaction from the international community,” the diplomat said.

According to the ambassador, all participants support the further deepening of interconnectivity, creation of high-quality, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, strengthening of cooperation in the field of transport, energy and water resources, as well as continuously increasing the level of “soft connectivity” in infrastructure in order to create an open world economy.

“Everyone believes that we should deepen the development of the Green Silk Road, work together to address climate change, strengthen cooperation on protecting biodiversity and the environment, green infrastructure, green transport, combating desertification, and building investment and investment partnerships. financing green development,” said Yu Jun.

The Ambassador emphasized that all participants support accelerating the construction of the Digital Silk Road, creating open, fair and non-discriminatory conditions for digital development, promoting deep integration of digital technologies with the real sector of the economy, as well as the healthy, orderly and safe development of artificial intelligence. The global AI governance initiative put forward by China at the forum has received great response, he added.

A business conference was held on the eve of the forum. Chinese and foreign guests gathered together and actively expressed their opinions and suggestions. Everyone expressed hope for the comprehensive development of practical cooperation, promoting the liberalization and simplification of trade and investment, optimizing the business environment, as well as holding various cultural events, the Chinese Ambassador noted.

Following the results of the Forum, a Statement by the Chairman was adopted, which comprehensively sets out the agreements reached and results. During the Forum, 458 results were achieved, which is much higher than the number of the second Forum. These include:

1) many major initiatives, such as the “Beijing Initiative for Deepening Cooperation in the Field of Interconnectivity”, “Beijing Initiative for Green Development of the BRI”, “Beijing Initiative for International Cooperation in the Digital Economy of the BRI”, “Principles for Building a Fair BRI”, etc.;

2) several bilateral and multilateral cooperation documents, mechanisms, etc., such as the mechanism of the meeting of the ministers of transport of China and Central Asia, the dialogue mechanism on cooperation in the field of e-commerce between China and Central Asia, the platform for investment and financial cooperation between China and Central Asia Asia, etc.

3) a number of financing initiatives, for example, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China will separately create credit lines in the amount of 350 billion Chinese yuan, and the Silk Road Fund will be increased by 80 billion Chinese yuans; These funds are used to support BRI projects on a commercial and market basis.

4) specific cooperation projects, such as the implementation of 1000 small projects to improve people’s lives,

organizing courses on green development to train specialists from partner countries, designed for 10 thousand people by 2030, increasing the number of joint laboratories to 100.

At the business conference, cooperation agreements worth US$97.2 billion were signed. As a result of the Forum, a decision was made to create the Forum Secretariat, which should play its role in improving the institutional framework and implementation of projects, Yu Jun said.

Chinese Ambassador Yu Jun noted that in the context of a complex and turbulent international situation, the Forum sent a clear signal to the world in support of solidarity, cooperation, openness and win-win. We have all chosen solidarity, cooperation, openness and mutual benefit, and rejected division, confrontation, isolation and zero-sum games.

“Chairman Xi Jinping clearly noted that humanity as a whole is the unification of the destiny of all peoples. It is impossible to cope with grandiose tasks and achieve a good goal without mutually beneficial cooperation. After all, by helping others, you help yourself. Perceiving others’ development success and economic connectivity as a threat and risk will in no way bring a better life and faster growth,” he said.

Yu Jun emphasized that this Forum offered countries a grand vision of working together to achieve modernization. President Xi Jinping emphasized that China strives not only for its own, but for joint modernization with all states, especially with the developing world.

“By implementing the BRI initiative, we stand for the power of solidarity and mutual assistance, we strive to ensure that everyone has a good time, both ourselves and others, we are guided by the principles of interconnectedness and mutual benefit for the sake of common development and everyone’s benefit,” the Ambassador noted.

Yu Jun said China will continue to facilitate market access, deepen reforms, enter into free trade agreements and investment protection agreements with more countries, implement joint projects under the BRI, and promote local employment and economic growth. “We are convinced that the mentioned steps will expand opportunities for modernization of the countries of the world,” the diplomat added.

“It should be noted that the BRI initiative is quite in the spirit of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, aimed at eliminating the root causes and obstacles to development, increasing the self-sustaining development capacity of participating countries and promoting the achievement of sustainable, inclusive and sustainable growth. No country fell into a debt crisis as a result of participation in the initiative,” the Ambassador said.

The BRI initiative originated in China but brings benefits and opportunities around the world. This is an initiative of development, cooperation and openness. It focuses on development, advocates mutual benefit and instills hope, Yu Jun emphasized.

“The Third Forum is another important milestone in the construction process of the Belt and Road and opens a new stage in the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road. The successful holding of the Forum once again proves that the concepts, mechanisms and measures for the joint construction of the Belt and Road exist. Countries’ confidence in the BRI is high, and the prospects for the qualitative development of the initiative are excellent,” said the Chinese diplomat.