BEIJING, September 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Over the past decade, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), following the guiding principle of in-depth consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, has become a platform world where participating countries work together to promote the well-being of populations. -to be and give new impetus to global development.
As the BRI celebrates its 10th anniversary, Global Times reporters Yin Yeping, Wang Wenwen and Ma Mengyang interviewed diplomats and scholars to learn about the cooperation’s achievements in Greece, Hungary and Serbia over the past decade and their expectations for high-quality construction under the BRI over the next decade.
Xiao Junzheng, Chinese Ambassador to Greece
The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said that friendship is a single soul living in two bodies. China And Greece are comprehensive strategic partners with a history of friendly exchanges dating back thousands of years. In the 51 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have faced the changing international landscape without fear.
China And Greece have always upheld the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual learning, engaging in fruitful cooperation. The two countries have become an exemplary model of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation between nations of different scales, systems, national conditions and civilizations.
Thanks to the joint efforts of both China And Greecemutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruitful results.
Since China COSCO Shipping took over the management of the port of Piraeus, the port has undergone a remarkable transformation. Container throughput has increased from 880,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2010 to more than 5 million TEUs today, making it a leading port in the Mediterranean.
This development has directly created over 3,000 employment opportunities for the local community and indirectly generated over 10,000 additional jobs.
In the future, China And Greece can further strengthen their commitment to the overall development plan of the port of Piraeus, strengthen cooperation in customs trade and facilitation of customs clearance procedures, advance the construction of port logistics parks and make further contributions to maintaining the stability of the port of Piraeus. China–Europe industrial and supply chains, promoting economic integration in the Balkans and advancing EU integration.
The concept of green development is increasingly reflected in cooperation projects between the two parties.
New energy vehicles produced in China have successfully entered the Greek market this year. China And Greece strengthened their strategic alignment in technology development under the China-Greece Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation and the Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan.
Simultaneously, both China And Greece should continue their efforts to strengthen cultural exchanges and mutual learning. Perseverance in this effort will serve as a lasting example of cultural exchange and mutual understanding for the world. Together, both sides can draw on the wisdom of ancient civilizations to seek solutions to contemporary challenges.
All along that of Greece successive governments, emphasis has been placed on strengthening relations with China. After the re-election of the New Democracy Party government, they continued to support both the co-development of the BRI and cooperation between countries. China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
I believe that in the future, under the leadership of the high-quality construction of the BRI, the two sides will further promote the realization of China model of modernization and that of Greece strengthening its national competitiveness. Together, the two sides will develop new areas of cooperation such as green development and digital economy, thereby bringing greater prosperity to the people of the two countries.
Norbert Csizmadiaa Hungarian expert in economic strategy
As a member of the EU, Hungary is the first country to bridge the gap between West and East. We attach particular importance to promoting strong cooperation, not only in terms of investments and infrastructure development, but also in the areas of technology, culture, education and green financial initiatives. We are looking to the future with more connectivity.
There are six key areas of economic cooperation between China And Hungary, with a particular focus on collaboration within the Belt and Road Initiative. Not only has this priority been important in recent years, but it will continue to be a priority. We believe that the era of Eurasia has arrived and consider it a crucial direction for the future. Furthermore, we firmly believe in peaceful and harmonious cooperation.
If we look at world building based on geographic divisions, it becomes clear that we live in a multipolar world order. China is increasingly important. For example, in 2019, 49% of global economic growth was attributed to China and the countries of Southeast Asia, and China alone accounting for more than 30 percent of global economic growth. Looking at a map of Chinawe can observe the geographical extent of Beijing has Shanghai shares similarities with Central and Eastern European countries – from the Baltic area to the Adriatic Sea. This underlines the constant focus on the same geographic regions, especially small countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Hungary has a population of around 10 million, which is comparable to that of a single Chinese city. The importance of cooperation cannot be underestimated. Collaboration between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and China spans a decade and encompasses various areas such as education and investments. Hungary maintains solid political stability, unlike some other countries that have disengaged from Chinese cooperation over the past two years. Although political changes have occurred in some countries, Hungary has maintained a consistent orientation for more than 13 years, particularly in terms of its objectives. I believe that this political stability constitutes a powerful force for the future.
Katarina Zakic, director of the Belt and Road Regional Center at Belgradethe Institute of International Politics and Economics
From the beginning, it was very clear that the BRI is something extraordinary that does not happen every day. We knew it would be a huge project and a huge undertaking on the part of Chinato develop and finance it.
This year marks its 10th anniversary. When you look at the results, they are truly impressive. Concerning investments, we arrive 1 trillion dollars. Around 40 million people around the world no longer bear the burden of the extreme poverty they lived in before these projects.
In general, China achieved excellent results. We are impressed by the results in the field of transport infrastructure and especially by the nature of the countries in which they were carried out. These are the countries that needed these infrastructure projects. One of the reasons I have always been extremely grateful for this project is China the idea that each country should designate the project it wishes to carry out. And we would very much appreciate China assistance in this regard.
Serbia is in Europe, but it is not a member of the EU. This is our strategic location, because for many years we have always been trying to become a member of the EU. Our cooperation with China and the good results are partly due to the fact that we are not a member of the EU.
We have comprehensive cooperation with China. We have relationships at very high political levels. We signed with China the global strategic agreement. We also have excellent cooperation at the economic level, especially regarding the loans and investments that we have, not only throughout the BRI, but also throughout the China-Central and Eastern Europe cooperation framework.
Not only are political and economic relations of a high level, but people-to-people relations and cultural relations are also of a very high level. All these elements help Serbia to become the pillar of China projects and China relationships in the Western market. Serbia did not have any kind of suspicion or negative reaction towards the deepening of our cooperation. Each government, from 2008 onwards, has simply implemented this operation. We are somehow complementary. We respect each other’s policies. Even in some cases, when we have a problem, for example on the economic level or in terms of investments, it has always been understood that we have to talk about the problem and solve it. So, within the Balkan countries, we are distinct.
Show original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/china-ceec-bri-cooperation-an-exemplary-model-301939214.html
SOURCE World Times
