Global Times posted an editorial on the first day of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) to be held Oct. 17-18. It begins: “To decipher how the China-proposed initiative has provided both a conceptual framework and a practical roadmap for all nations on the path to global well-being, the Global Times is publishing this special edition as a celebration of a remarkable decade of achievement under the BRI as the BRF is being held. The special edition will also visualize the embodiments of ‘a path to global well-being,’ which incorporates peace, prosperity, openness, innovation and social progress, demonstrating the ‘global project of the century’ also has illuminated a path of hope for humanity toward a brighter future. Over the past decade, no other proposal in modern history has attracted the participation of such a large number of countries in such a short time and generated widespread international influence that can be compared to the BRI.”
They note that “140 countries and over 30 international organizations have confirmed their participation. This means nearly three-quarters of the countries around the world will be present.” The theme of this forum is “High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity.”
They quote a World Bank report that the BRI has increased trade among participants by 4.1% and raised the GDP of low-income countries by 3.4%, while emerging and developing economies increased by 3.6 percentage points from 2012 to 2021. The editors add: “By June 2023, China had signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations across five continents.”
