NOURNEWS- The Third Belt and Road Forum, known as BRF, is currently underway in Beijing, this forum has brought together a number of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has already delivered a brief address to the gathering.
Speaking at the BRF on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that China and Russia, as well as the majority of the world's countries, “share the desire for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation aimed at achieving sustainable and long-term economic progress and social well-being, while respecting the diversity of civilizations and the right of each country to its own model of development.”
Touching upon China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Russian president said that this strategy is in line with Russia's ideas about the formation of a large Eurasian space, where various integration processes could be linked, including within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.
According to him, Russia and China have reached an agreement on the parallel and coordinated development of the Eurasian Economic Union and the BRI.
The Russian leader also said that Moscow invites all interested countries to cooperate in the development of the Northern Sea Route and added: “Concerning the Northern Sea Route, Russia is not just inviting its partners to actively use its transit potential. Let me say more: we invite interested countries to directly participate in its development. We are ready to provide reliable ice navigation, communications, and supplies.”
Given the global dimensions of the initiative the Chinese leader launched a decade ago, frankly, one can hardly expect to make it work. Our Chinese friends are making it work. We are glad to see this success story, as it means a lot to many of us,” the Russian leader added.
He said with confidence that the Belt and Road Initiative as well as proposals from Russia and other countries would bring about truly collective and quite effective solutions to the most pressing regional and international problems.
Putin wished Chinese leader Xi Jinping and all participants in the initiative every success in the implementation of their plans.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, for his part, said: “China is willing to deepen partnership within the Belt and Road Initiative and push forward the joint build-up of the Belt and Road Initiative [strategy] to a new stage of high-quality development. Also, Beijing is poised to make unremitting efforts to implement the modernization of all countries in the world.”
Additionally, Xi Jinping underscored that China “has become a major trading partner” for more than 140 countries across the world and “is also becoming a major source of investment for an increasing number of nations.”
Separately, the Chinese president emphasized that Beijing doesn’t “take part in ideological confrontation and geopolitical games.” According to Xi, China opposes “unilateral sanctions, economic coercion and severance of ties.”
Furthermore, according to Xi, his country is not seeking isolated modernization for itself alone.
“We are not pursuing isolated modernization for China, but hope to carry out modernization together with numerous developing countries,” Xi stated. He added that global modernization should be the modernization of peaceful development and win-win cooperation.
The BRI was launched by Xi in 2013 and is a throwback to the ancient Silk Road. Its goal is for China to enter the markets of Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and other regions, as well as to intensify international trade and investment projects involving more countries and utilizing the capital of interested states. More than 150 countries and international organizations have already joined the initiative.
NOURNEWS