Employees of TBEA Xinjiang Sunoasis Co. Ltd. work on the solar power industrial park in Punjab Province of Pakistan on March 30 (XINHUA)

Delegates from more than 60 political parties and groups from over 30 countries gathered in Beijing on October 14-16, seeking shared understanding of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road Initiative) proposed by China and the benefits for participating countries.

The Asian Political Parties' Special Conference on the Silk Road, with a theme of "New Vision of the Silk Road, Actions for Common Development," brought together more than 400 politicians, officials, scholars and reporters from Asia.

Positive responses  

During the three-day conference, attendees participated in a broad discussion on the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative and efforts to promote connectivity between countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Foreign political leaders also attended the meeting and expressed their support for the Belt and Road Initiative, including Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, President of the Democratic Party of Mongolia Zandaakhuu Enkhbold, and Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Davit Usupashvili.

Usupashvili suggested at the forum that all delegates should build a broad consensus on promoting the project. "Sometimes it is the political parties that make major obstacles. But it is very difficult to find representatives of communities who tell you that they don't need more infrastructure to connect each other. It is very difficult to find people who don't want more contact with other countries. So political parties should build political consensus to promote the initiative," he said.

"Georgia is a country linking Asia and Europe," he proclaimed. "Today, Georgia is glad to be a part of Asia and we want more connectivity with other countries and to share in the prosperity of Asia through building the Silk Road Economic Belt. Georgia is ready to offer everything we possess for the success of this project."

Liow Tiong Lai, President of the Malaysian Chinese Association and Minister of Malaysian Transport, said at the forum that his country has kept close ties with China in recent decades. Especially in the last few years, the two countries have bolstered their cooperation on bilateral trade and high-speed infrastructure construction.

"Malaysia attaches great importance to the Trans-Asian Railway plan that will link southwest China to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. We hope to enhance the connection of countries along the railway and facilitate regional economic integration," Liow said.

"We hope Chinese enterprises can participate in the construction of infrastructure along the railway," Liow added. "Malaysia has high expectations for the Belt and Road Initiative. With the initiative, cooperation between our two countries will become closer."

Pakistan is another country that has reached domestic political consensus on building the initiative with China. Masood Khalid, Ambassador of Pakistan to China, told Beijing Review  that "there is national consensus in Pakistan that China is our trusted friend and strategic partner. Chinese President Xi Jinping's foresighted vision of the Belt and Road Initiative is viewed in Pakistan as a platform for increased connectivity and win-win cooperation in the region."

In spite of an opposition party's presence in the Pakistan parliament, Sherry Rehman, Pakistani Senator and Vice President of the Pakistan People's Party said in an interview with Beijing Review  during the forum that there is no gap between Pakistan's political parties on the vision of the Belt and Road Initiative. "The initiative is a huge idea and a new Chinese dream. And we people in Pakistan are very excited about it," said Rehman.

Rehman sees the initiative as a long-term investment in the region. "It not only brings the opportunity for the economic transformation of Pakistan, but also a big change for Asia."

A Chinese engineer performs his duty of field reconnaissance for the construction of a power station in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir (XINHUA)

Private sector support 

In addition to politicians, the special conference also attracted entrepreneurs to discuss opportunities brought about by the initiative.

Wang Junjuan, Vice President of Hanergy Holding Group, one of China's largest private clean-energy providers, attended a seminar together with delegates from South Asian countries. Wang told Beijing Review  that Hanergy is committed to providing leading technologies and products of clean energy for people in developing countries. The company is interested in participating in construction of the Belt and Road Initiative in Asia.

"In many Asian countries, there are good natural conditions for using solar energy, and Hanergy has sustained the stable growth of market shares in Asia in recent years," Wang said.

"Common development is a major goal for the Belt and Road Initiative. We hope to seize more business opportunities by participating in concrete projects of the initiative. More importantly, we are glad to support the sustainable development of Asian countries," Wang said.

Initial success 

While some countries are still hesitant to support China's efforts to cultivate the proposed initiative, Pakistan has been working together with China to promote the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) over the last two years. The CPEC was highlighted by Pakistani delegates during the forum as an important outcome of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The CPEC project is forging ahead with such powerful vision, including connectivity, infrastructure, trade and energy," Rehman said. "In terms of new Silk Road and maritime linkage, we provide connection to southwest Pakistan's Gwadar Port and northwest China's Kashgar."

"All major political parties in Pakistan strongly believe that CPEC is critical for the long-term prosperity of Pakistan. The entire nation is thus committed to the success of CPEC and for even further collaboration with China," Khalid said. "The CPEC has added another layer of cooperation in our already strong relationship. We realize that as its flagship project, CPEC is critical for the long-term success of President Xi's visionary Belt and Road Initiative."

Since the formal initiation of CPEC two years ago, most of the prioritized projects have transitioned from the conceptual to the implementation stage. CPEC is now a work in progress, Khalid said.

With regard to problems the CPEC might face, Khalid stated that Pakistan and China have instituted a strong mechanism for cooperation and coordination to discuss and resolve such issues, including the Joint Cooperation Committee and expert working groups that have been set up to oversee projects in different sectors including energy, transport and infrastructure.

"This regular contact and coordination helps in ensuring smooth progress of the various projects," Khalid said. As for the security threat to the region, Khalid said that "with military action against terrorists, the security situation has considerably improved."

"I am confident that these measures would guarantee the long-term success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and bring prosperity to our nations," Khalid concluded.

At the closing ceremony on October 16, the conference delegates announced that they have reached consensus on a series of points, which were released as the Beijing Initiative.

The document is indicative of the shared agreement from participating countries that they must collectively increase communication on multiple levels and in various forms. It also emphasized that insufficient connectivity of infrastructure is one the biggest hurdles in realizing the Belt and Road strategy, and it welcomed the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a tool to overcome this hurdle.

Representatives also proposed the establishment of a Silk Road exchange and cooperation center for political parties to try and increase common economic and infrastructure development.

Copyedited by Mara Lee Durrell

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