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The first authoritative report on "Belt and Road" three-year progress released

By Yang Yuntao (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2016-09-26 17:29

Renmin University of China(RUC) President Liu Wei is delivering a speech.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Joint efforts, all-dimensional strategy

The report noted that the BRI is a long-term and systematic program, and China would not only be the initiator but also a responsible and reliable practitioner for steady, practical and orderly construction of the "Belt and Road". Therefore RDCY research team proposed five suggestions for BRI’s future growth.

First, building an overall planning and coordination mechanism for efficient and integrated progress. On the one hand, a "positive list"for the construction of the "Belt and Road" could be introduced to guide all sides to identify the trends in building the "Belt and Road" and promote more reasonable policy expectations to be formed at different levels of governments. On the other hand, a "negative list" for the construction of the "Belt and Road" should also be issued to confirm forbidden fields and fully inspire initiative and creativity of participants in building the “Belt and Road”.

Second, adhering to principle of long-term consistent progress and encouraging innovative mechanisms and platforms. Since there’s no existing experience for reference, efforts should be made to explore ways of innovative construction.

Third, telling BRI stories to boost cohesion among countries for the construction of the "Belt and Road". China should give full interpretation of the BRI’s connotation and denotation and clearly show the positive effects of the BRI, which would facilitate the deepening of international cooperation. This would also help shape mainstream understanding of the BRI among Chinese public, and help reduce misunderstanding toward BRI abroad.

Fourth, utilizing the global Chinese network to tap into international talent reserves. Overseas Chinese could serve as an important link to help reduce the gap between China and the countries where they reside. A productive network of global Chinese talent should be developed for the progress of the “Belt and Road”.

Fifth,improving business support system to provide all-around and effective assistance. Comprehensive support for Chinese enterprises in terms of investment banking services, business trust, administration, legal affairs, auditing, consulting and investigation should be in place, so as to help Chinese enterprises prosper while going global. This would also offer powerful back-up for the development of the BRI.

Contribute wisdom, taking on think tanks’ role

RUC always attaches great importance to the research of "Belt and Road" strategy, Liu emphasized when he released the report. basing on the comprehensive advantages on disciplines of arts, humanities and social science, and mechanism innovation, RUC devoted to the building of first-class think tanks with Chinese characteristics, and made effort to provide powerful research results and policy suggestions on the “Belt and Road” construction.

Over the past three years, RUC has investigated more than 30 countries and regions along the "Belt and Road" . After the launch of "Vision and proposed actions outlined on jointly building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road" on March 28th, 2015, RUC published the first monograph " 'Belt and Road Initiative': opportunities and Challenges" which has been translated into over 10 different languages, hosted a number of forums such as "Belt and Road Economic Forum", "Silk Road Economic Belt Cities International Forum" and " 'Belt and Road' strategy and RMB internationalization", built the database of the "Belt and Road", and set up a research and survey team.

As one of the authors of this report, the Executive Dean Wang Wen pointed out at an interview, “RDCY was the Executive Director of the Chinese Think Tank Cooperation Alliance for the “Belt and Road”, and the leading think tank to jointly build “Belt and Road” through the cooperation of the official and academic organizations between China and Iran. RDCY had successfully organized a number of think tanks’ dialogues with Iran, Turkey, India, Nepal, the United States, Kazakhstan and other countries, and visited more than 30 countries over a hundred of cities and counties. RDCY plays an important role on the construction of the “Belt and Road” and gets fruitful results over the past three years”. Wang emphasized that we hope to tell China’s stories well with more active and lively examples, and contribute our wisdom and strength in promoting the understanding of BRI across the world and boosting the development of Chinese public diplomacy.