Davos in the summer of 2023 | Jointly build a green "the Belt and Road" to provide strong impetus for global economic recovery Green | One Belt | Economy

The 14th Annual Meeting of New Leaders of the World Economic Forum was held in Tianjin from the 27th to the 29th. After experiencing a series of challenges such as the COVID-19, high inflation and geopolitical conflicts, the world economy has entered a critical period of recovery, and "restarting growth" has become an important topic of common concern and enthusiastic discussion among the participants.

During the forum, several guests said that the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" will become an important engine for world economic recovery. The green development concept that runs through all fields and the whole process of the "the Belt and Road" provides new opportunities for high-quality sustainable growth.

Interior of the venue

Jointly building the "the Belt and Road" as an important engine for world economic recovery

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past decade, the "the Belt and Road" has promoted adherence to multilateralism, defended an open economic system, and built an important platform for mutually beneficial cooperation in the global economy.

Former Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurtz said that the "the Belt and Road" initiative has brought many opportunities for economic growth and exchanges in Asia, Europe, Africa and other regions, and is one of the most important initiatives in the world at present. The "the Belt and Road" is not only an engine for world economic growth, but also an important mechanism for promoting cross regional cooperation and mutual trust.

Over the past decade, economic and trade exchanges between countries along the "the Belt and Road" have become increasingly frequent. Especially in the current situation of sluggish global demand and sluggish trade, the "the Belt and Road" provides strong support for the vitality of the global trading system.

Taking China as an example, in the first five months of this year, China's imports and exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road" totaled 5.78 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.2%, greatly improving the resilience and growth potential of China's foreign trade to deal with uncertainty.

Wan Zhe, a professor at Beijing Normal University, said that the "the Belt and Road" provides comprehensive support for the global economic recovery and truly realizes hard, soft and heart connectivity. For example, providing support for local economic growth through infrastructure construction, providing more employment for the local area through cooperation in large-scale projects, consolidating the foundation of local food security through agricultural technology cooperation, and helping to cultivate vocational and technical talents in the local area through some small and beautiful projects, such as the Luban Workshop, while rallying people's hearts and enhancing their sustainable development momentum.

"The 'the Belt and Road' initiative is of practical significance to Zimbabwe." Zimbabwe's Minister of Industry and Commerce Nzanza said that as a landlocked country, Zimbabwe faces two major challenges, namely, logistics congestion and energy gap. "The Belt and Road related projects focus on our weaknesses and help us strengthen investment and trade."

The "the Belt and Road" has also brought new development opportunities to Zimbabwe. She introduced that with the support of the strong logistics capacity of the "the Belt and Road", Zimbabwe could realize the export trade of avocado and other fruit products and obtain considerable benefits.

Wan Zhe believes that in the process of jointly building the "the Belt and Road", developing countries and underdeveloped regions along the line are not only beneficiaries of global common development, but also will become contributors to global growth in the future.

Integrating the concept of green development into the whole process of "the Belt and Road"

Jointly building the "the Belt and Road" is the road to economic prosperity and green development. Green transformation has become a key area and new practice to promote high-quality development of the "the Belt and Road".

"Green is the background of the joint construction of the the Belt and Road, and we have integrated the concept of green development into all areas and the whole process of the the Belt and Road." Liang Linchong, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that China's deepening of practical cooperation in the joint construction of the green "the Belt and Road" has played an important role in the green and low-carbon development of local energy and promoting the harmonious coexistence of people and nature.

He used the Inner Mongolia Railway as an example, "In order to protect animals, small culverts have been set up along the railway for small animals to pass through, leaving them with migration routes."

"Next, China will work with the countries that jointly build the" the Belt and Road "to continue to" polish "the green background and better benefit the people of all countries when carrying out cooperation in infrastructure, energy, finance, climate change and other fields." Liang Linchong said.

How can we make the joint construction of the green "the Belt and Road" more perfect? "Teaching people to fish is not as good as teaching them to fish. Improving green concepts is the top priority, and everyone should have a broad understanding and consensus on 'green waters and mountains are like mountains of gold and silver'." Wan Zhe said.

She said that in recent years, China has trained 3000 green talents for more than 120 countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" through the implementation of the "Green Silk Road Messenger Plan".

In addition, China's innovative achievements in the field of clean energy provide technical support for the joint construction of the green "the Belt and Road". Xin Baoan, Chairman of the State Grid Corporation of China, said that the State Grid has actively served the "the Belt and Road" initiative and has invested in the construction and operation of 13 energy grid projects in 10 countries. At the same time, it is also continuing to promote the interconnection of power grids in surrounding countries. State Grid attaches great importance to building an international exchange platform, sharing experiences with global partners, and exchanging technologies with peers, providing great impetus for the power supply and green transformation of the host country.