Xi Jinping Chairs and Addresses the Leaders' Roundtable of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF)

On April 27, 2019, the leaders' roundtable of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) was held at the Yanqi Lake International Convention Center in Beijing. Leaders of 40 countries and international organizations attended the leaders' roundtable, focused on the theme of "Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future", exchanged views on topics such as advancing connectivity, strengthening policy synergy and promoting green and sustainable development, reached broad consensus and adopted a joint communique.

President Xi Jinping chaired the leaders' roundtable, and Han Zheng was present.

On the shores of Yanqi Lake in April, guests and friends gathered here. At around 10:00a.m., foreign leaders and principals of international organizations who came to attend the roundtable arrived one after another. Xi Jinping shook hands and exchanged greetings with them respectively.

At 10:30 a.m., Xi Jinping announced the opening of the leaders' roundtable.

In his opening remarks, Xi Jinping pointed out that since the convening of the first BRF two years ago, under the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, we have made all-round progress in policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds, lending new impetus to global economic growth and opening new space for global development. By hosting the second BRF, we wish to work with all parties to promote in-depth and substantial development of Belt and Road cooperation to better benefit the people of all countries.

We hope to work with all parties to improve the cooperation concept for high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation. We should fully implement the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. We should pursue open, green and clean cooperation, and follow a high-standard, people-oriented and sustainable approach. We should make our support of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development an integral part of Belt and Road cooperation, and pursue economic growth, social progress and environmental protection in a balanced way.

We hope to work with all parties to identify cooperation priorities and strengthen all-round connectivity. We should continue to focus on infrastructure connectivity, deepen cooperation in frontier areas such as smart manufacturing and digital economy, implement the strategy of innovation-driven development, expand our markets wider and enhance trade and investment facilitation. We should build diversified financing systems and multi-tiered capital markets, promote extensive people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and undertake more cooperation projects that help improve people's livelihood. We should achieve all-round connectivity that produces multiplying effects in infrastructure development, industrial clustering, economic growth and people's livelihood.

We hope to work with all parties to bolster cooperation mechanisms and foster partnerships on connectivity. We should work together to keep the world economy open and reject protectionism, make continued efforts to enhance the complementarity and synergy between Belt and Road cooperation and the development strategies and agenda at national, regional and international levels. We need to encourage the full participation of more countries and companies, thus expanding the pie of common interests. In the spirit of multilateralism, we need to earnestly advance the institution building for Belt and Road cooperation to provide a strong underpinning for our practical cooperation in various fields.

Afterwards, the first, second and third sessions of the leaders’ roundtable were held. All leaders present at the sessions comprehensively exchanged in-depth views on topics including “promoting connectivity to explore new growth impetus”, “strengthening policy integration to build closer partnerships”, and “pushing forward green and sustainable development and implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, reaching important consensus. Various parties highly value the role of infrastructure connectivity in promoting economic growth and hope to build a high-quality connectivity network of transport, fund, energy, digit and intelligence to continue exploring new growth impetus for world economy. All parties support taking Belt and Road cooperation as a platform to continue to enhance policy integration and implement it in cooperation in various fields. Various parties have always upheld the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits to build even closer partnerships. All parties support green and sustainable development, and support adhering to development orientation in the process of Belt and Road cooperation and carrying out more resource-conserving and environmentally friendly projects. All parties believe that Belt and Road cooperation will make positive contributions to supporting the cause of global development, especially to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Foreign leaders and principals of international organizations present at the roundtable praised the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as one of the greatest economic cooperation initiative in the world today, since it is conducive to promoting connectivity among countries and regions, facilitating cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, infrastructure construction and sustainable development, and to enhancing mutual understanding among people in regions along the route. Leaders present at the roundtable spoke positively of the fruitful outcomes, the tangible benefits to various countries, and the important contributions to international development and cooperation of Belt and Road cooperation over the past five years or so. All parties present at the roundtable congratulated on the great success in the economic and social development of the People’s Republic of China since its founding 70 years ago, and expressed that President Xi Jinping’s speech at the opening ceremony of the second BRF has received warm response from the international community. President Xi Jinping announced that China will take a series of major measures to further its reform and opening up, which sends out a very positive signal and will vigorously push forward Belt and Road cooperation and world economic development. Highly appreciating the Chinese side’s efforts to hold this forum, all parties expressed their willingness to align their respective national development strategies with the BRI, and expected to work with the Chinese side to jointly push Belt and Road cooperation for more outcomes, so as to benefit more people in the world.

At around 4:45 p.m., the roundtable came to the conclusion. All parties adopted Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future--Joint Communique of the Leaders' Roundtable of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

After delivering the closing speech, Xi Jinping rapped the gavel to announce the conclusion of the leaders’ roundtable.

Later on, Xi Jinping met with Chinese and foreign journalists, and introduced the situation and main outcomes of the leaders’ roundtable of the second BRF. Xi Jinping pointed out that leaders and principals of international organizations present at the roundtable, centering on the theme and topics of the second BRF, carried out in-depth discussions, improved cooperation concepts, made clear cooperation priorities, enhanced cooperation mechanisms, and reached extensive consensus on the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

First, we spoke positively of the progress and value of Belt and Road cooperation. We shared the view that Belt and Road cooperation has created opportunities for common prosperity. Since the BRI was proposed over five years ago, and especially after the first BRF, under the concerted efforts of all parties, the early harvests of Belt and Road cooperation achieved so far have opened up greater space for national and global economic growth, provided a platform for enhancing international cooperation, and made fresh contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Second, we enriched the concept of Belt and Road cooperation and jointly reaffirmed our commitment to its high-quality development. Guided by the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and by supporting open, clean and green development and rejecting protectionism, we have agreed to act on the principles of high standard, people-centered and sustainable development. We follow the philosophy of people-centered development, and pursue coordinated progress in economic, social and environmental dimensions. The joint goal is to realize more effective connectivity between countries, promote stronger economic growth and closer international cooperation, and deliver better lives to our peoples.

Third, we set clear priorities for Belt and Road cooperation and decided to strengthen all-round and multi-tiered cooperation. We will continue to promote land, sea, air and cyber connectivity and develop high-quality, sustainable, resilient, affordable, inclusive and accessible infrastructure. We have also agreed to conduct extensive people-to-people and cultural exchanges and launch more cooperation projects for the benefit of our peoples. We all want to make Belt and Road cooperation development-oriented, and all support global development, especially the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is also necessary to help developing countries break bottlenecks to development and better partake in and benefit from global value, industrial and supply chains.

Fourth, we all supported the idea of building a global partnership on connectivity and agreed to strengthen mechanisms for Belt and Road cooperation. We will find greater complementarity between the economic development initiatives and plans of interested countries and international organizations. We will continue to develop international transportation and trade links, in order to help more countries improve connectivity. We will uphold multilateralism, and work to foster a framework led by the BRF and underpinned by multilateral and bilateral cooperation in various areas. All parties shared the view that the BRF is an important platform for multilateral cooperation and support holding the forum on a regular basis.

Fifth, we all supported more results-oriented cooperation and more concrete outcomes. In the run-up to and during the course of this forum, the parties reached more than 283 deliverables. A great many business representatives participated in the entrepreneur conference and signed project cooperation agreements worth over 64 billion US dollars. All of this shows that Belt and Road cooperation is in sync with the times, widely supported, people-centered and beneficial to all.

Xi Jinping stressed that this year’s forum sends a clear message: more and more friends and partners will join in Belt and Road cooperation, and the cooperation will enjoy higher quality and brighter prospects. China will work with all parties to implement the consensus reached at this year’s forum, advance results-oriented implementation of projects in the spirit of an architect refining the blueprint, ensure substantive, steady, sustained and high-quality development and usher in a brighter future of Belt and Road cooperation.

After the roundtable, China, as the host, released List of Deliverables of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

At noon, Xi Jinping and leaders and principals of international organizations attending the roundtable took a group photo.

Ding Xuexiang, Yang Jiechi, Hu Chunhua, Cai Qi, Wang Yi, Zhao Kezhi and He Lifeng attended the above activities.