Commentary: High-quality development of BRI good means to tackle turbulence

Promoting connectivity, openness and inclusiveness is the only way to cope with a world that has entered a period of turbulence. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can play an important role in this.

President Xi Jinping charted the course for continuing advancing high-quality development of the BRI at the just-concluded third high-level symposium on the initiative and put forward a series of key tasks that must be put in place.

It demonstrates China's determination and confidence in expanding high-standard opening-up and jointly promoting high-quality development of the BRI. It also embodies China's role as a big country to promote the global economic recovery and build a community with a shared future for humanity.

To promote the high-quality construction of the BRI is to let more countries and people gain from it. To achieve that, stronger political mutual trust, more cooperative mechanisms and a better connectivity network linking land, sea, air and cyberspace are needed.

Meanwhile, efforts should be made to increase trade with neighboring countries, expand imports of high-quality products, promote international industrial-capacity cooperation and enhance financial connectivity and cultural exchanges.

In addition, cooperation in health, green development, digital industry and innovation should be encouraged, as China will continue to engage in international cooperation of COVID-19 response, support developing countries in green and low-carbon energy development, advance the Silk Road E-Commerce initiative, and nurture an open, fair, equitable and nondiscriminatory environment for science and technology progress.

As China has entered a new stage of development, implemented the new development philosophy, and built a new development pattern, it will provide stronger power, larger space and a better path for the joint construction of the BRI.

It should be realized that the new development pattern that China builds is by no means a closed domestic circulation but an open and mutually-beneficial domestic and international dual circulation. Under the new development pattern, China's market potential will be fully stimulated to create more demand for countries around the world. China will further open up its door to the outside world to share development opportunities with other countries. China will continue to deepen international cooperation and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results with other countries.

The BRI has become a popular international public product and cooperation platform. Projects to improve people's livelihood could be an effective means of increasing people's sense of fulfillment in countries along the Belt and Road.

The so-called criticism of "debt trap" against BRI is totally unfounded. Multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors hold more than three-quarters of African countries' total debts. So far, no BRI partner country has recognized the so-called "debt trap."

According to the World Bank, by 2030, the BRI can help 7.6 million people get rid of extreme poverty and 32 million people get rid of moderate poverty.

At present, economic globalization has shown new resilience, and the call for safeguarding multilateralism and strengthening communication and cooperation has become stronger. Experience in combating the pandemic has shown to people of all countries that the future of all countries is closely linked. Multilateralism should be firmly upheld. The BRI is a good means to achieve it.