China supports eight actions for high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative

　　On October 18, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. In his keynote speech, Xi announced eight actions by China to support the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road.

　　Building a three-dimensional interconnected network for the Belt and Road

　　China will accelerate the high-quality development of China-Europe freight trains, participate in the construction of the Trans-Caspian international transport corridor, successfully hold the China-Europe Freight Train International Cooperation Forum, and jointly build a new Eurasian continental logistics corridor supported by direct rail and road transport. Actively promote integrated development of the "Silk Road Maritime" port, shipping, and trade, and accelerate the construction of new land-sea corridors and the Air Silk Road.

　　Supporting the construction of an open world economy

　　China will establish a pilot zone for "Silk Road E-commerce" cooperation, sign free trade agreements and investment protection agreements with more countries. It will fully remove foreign investment access restrictions in the manufacturing sector. Proactively align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, deeply promote high-level opening-up in cross-border service trade and investment, expand market access for digital products, and deepen reforms in state-owned enterprises, digital economy, intellectual property, and government procurement. China will hold the "Global Digital Trade Expo" annually. In the next five years (2024-2028), China's total import and export volume of goods and services is expected to exceed 32 trillion USD and 5 trillion USD respectively.

　　Carrying out pragmatic cooperation

　　China will coordinate the advancement of landmark projects and "small but beautiful" livelihood projects. The China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China will each set up financing windows of 350 billion RMB, and the Silk Road Fund will add 80 billion RMB in funds to support Belt and Road projects in a market-oriented and commercialized manner. During this forum, the entrepreneurs' conference reached project cooperation agreements worth 97.2 billion USD. China will also implement 1,000 small livelihood aid projects, promote Sino-foreign vocational education cooperation through initiatives like the Luban Workshop, and strengthen safety guarantees for Belt and Road projects and personnel with all parties.

　　Promoting green development

　　China will continue to deepen cooperation in green infrastructure, green energy, green transportation, and other fields, increase support for the Belt and Road Green Development International Alliance, continue to hold the Belt and Road Green Innovation Conference, build a photovoltaic industry dialogue and exchange mechanism, and a green low-carbon expert network. Implement the Belt and Road green investment principles and provide training for 100,000 people in partner countries by 2030.

　　Promoting technological innovation

　　China will continue to implement the Belt and Road Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan, hold the first Belt and Road Science and Technology Exchange Conference, expand jointly built laboratories with partners to 100 in the next five years, and support young scientists from various countries to work in China short-term. China will propose a global artificial intelligence governance initiative at this forum, willing to strengthen exchanges and dialogue with all countries to jointly promote the healthy, orderly, and safe development of global AI.

　　Supporting people-to-people exchanges

　　China will host the "Liangzhu Forum" to deepen civilizational dialogue with Belt and Road countries. Based on the already established Silk Road International Theatre, Art Festival, Museum, Art Gallery, and Library Alliance, it will establish the Silk Road Tourism Cities Alliance. Continue to implement the "Silk Road" Chinese Government Scholarship program.

　　Building a clean Belt and Road

　　China will, together with partners, release the "Belt and Road Clean Construction Achievements and Prospects," launch the "Belt and Road Clean Construction High-Level Principles," establish a Belt and Road enterprise integrity compliance evaluation system, and cooperate with international organizations to carry out Belt and Road integrity research and training.

　　Improving the Belt and Road international cooperation mechanism

　　China will strengthen multilateral cooperation platforms with Belt and Road countries in energy, taxation, finance, green development, disaster reduction, anti-corruption, think tanks, media, culture, and other fields. Continue to hold the Belt and Road International Cooperation Forum and establish the forum secretariat.