On June 23, China will be sponsoring a virtual Asia-Pacific High-Level Conference on Belt and Road Cooperation, entitled “Promoting Cooperation to Combat the Pandemic for Sustainable Development,” presided over by Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian reported today that more than 30 parties will be represented, including foreign and economic ministers of ASEAN countries, plus representatives of the United Nations and other international agencies. “This is a high-level international conference on the Belt and Road Initiative with a wide range of participants, which reflects the high priority all parties attach to and support they lend to BRI,” Lijian said.
Zhao pointed out that 140 countries and 32 international organizations have joined the BRI and that partners have worked together to build the “Health Silk Road,” the “Green Silk Road,” and the “Digital Silk Road” and are making “new progress and contributing to the fight against the epidemic,” for economic stability and peoples’ livelihoods. He referenced the importance of Xi Jinping’s speech at this year’s Boao Forum Asia annual conference, in which he stated that China would continue to work with other parties for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in addition to health cooperation, connectivity, and other crucial economic matters. In tomorrow’s meeting, Zhao said, the purpose is to build on Xi’s “important initiative to forge new consensus with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region on jointly fighting the epidemic and promoting sustainable economic recovery, advance high-quality development of the BRI and make greater contributions to the building of a community for a shared future for the Asia-Pacific region and all of mankind.”
