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Monday, April 22, 2019, 18:09
Report: Broad consensus reached on B&R global cooperation
By Xinhua
Monday, April 22, 2019, 18:09 By Xinhua

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road are collectively known as the Belt and Road initiative. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – China has reached broad consensus on international cooperation for building the Belt and Road over the past few years, according to a report released Monday. 

The country has engaged in thorough communication and coordination with participating countries and international organizations, says the report titled "The Belt and Road Initiative: Progress, Contributions and Prospects" unveiled by the Office of the Leading Group for Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative. 

The report was released ahead of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held from April 25 to 27 in Beijing

The initiative has been incorporated into important documents of international organizations, according to the report. The initiative and its core concepts have been written into documents from the United Nations, G20, APEC and other international and regional organizations, it added.

Meanwhile, more and more countries and international organizations have signed intergovernmental cooperation agreements on the Belt and Road Initiative. 

READ MORE: President Xi to address Belt and Road forum next week

By the end of March 2019, the Chinese government had signed 173 cooperation agreements with 125 countries and 29 international organizations, according to the report. 

The Belt and Road has expanded from Asia and Europe to include more new participants in Africa, Latin America and the South Pacific, it reads.

The document was released ahead of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held from April 25 to 27 in Beijing. 

The Belt and Road Initiative is an initiative for peaceful development and economic cooperation, rather than a geopolitical or military alliance, said the report. "It is a process of open, inclusive and common development, not an exclusionary bloc or a 'China club'." 

"It neither differentiates between countries by ideology nor plays the zero-sum game. Countries are welcome to join the initiative if they so will," according to the report. 

FINANCIAL INTEGRATION 

As an important pillar of the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative, financial integration in the B&R countries has been strengthened over the past years, according to a report released Monday. 

"Exploring investment and financing models, international multilateral financial institutions and commercial banks have played an innovative role in expanding the channels of diversified financing, providing stable, transparent and quality financial support for the B&R Initiative," said the report. 

ALSO READ: B&R forges new path to inclusive globalization

China's Ministry of Finance and its counterparts in 27 countries including Argentina, Russia, Indonesia, the UK, and Singapore have endorsed the "Guiding Principles on Financing the Development of the Belt and Road". 

According to the Principles, the countries participating in the B&R Initiative support channeling of financial resources to serve the real economy of countries and regions involved, with priority given to such areas as infrastructure connectivity, trade and investment, and industrial cooperation, among others. 

With a steady supply of innovative financial products, channels for financing the B&R Initiative have expanded substantially. 

China has continued to open up its interbank bond market. By the end of 2018 about 200 billion yuan (about US$30 billion) of Panda bonds, or yuan-denominated bonds, had been issued. 

The Export-Import Bank of China issued a 2 billion-yuan green bond for global investors, and the BRICS New Development Bank issued a 3 billion-yuan green bond to support the green development of the B&R Initiative. 

Eleven Chinese-funded banks have set up 76 first-grade institutions in 28 B&R countries, and 50 banks from 22 B&R countries have opened 7 corporate banks, 19 branches, and 34 representative offices in China. 

China has made bilateral currency swap arrangements with more than 20 B&R countries and Renminbi clearing arrangements with 7 B&R countries, and signed cooperation agreements with the financial supervision authorities of 35 B&R countries. 

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