The Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation Thematic Forum on Sub-national Cooperation was held in Beijing on October 18. Zhang Guoqing, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, and Yin Li, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, attended the forum and delivered speeches. Yin Yong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Mayor of Beijing, was also present.
Zhang said that since President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative 10 years ago, China has substantiated cooperation at the sub-national level with all countries involved, spurring all-round and multi-faceted connectivity. In Xi's keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, he reviewed the fruitful results and valuable experience of Belt and Road cooperation and announced eight steps that China will take to support the joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. China will fully implement the guiding principles of Xi's speech and is willing to work with all parties concerned to further improve the cooperation mechanisms and policy environment, expand the areas of cooperation, and intensify economic and trade ties and people-to-people exchanges, so as to bring more fruits of the sub-national cooperation to more people in all countries and make more contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
According to Yin Li, President Xi delivered an inspiring keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, in which he reviewed the fruitful achievements of the past decade, announced eight major steps that China will take to support the joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and outlined a bright vision and charted the course forward. In addition to being an important window for China's opening up and a hub for Belt and Road cooperation, Beijing is also an active participant, promoter, and beneficiary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Therefore, it hopes to work with all friends to bring the BRI into another fruitful decade. He also called for more open cooperation to open up new spaces of connectivity; more cooperation and sharing of sci-tech innovations to create new drivers of high-quality development; more industrial cooperation to promote the deep integration of industrial and supply chains to create new highlights of win-win cooperation; and more people-to-people exchanges to establish a new pattern of mutual learning among civilizations.
After the opening ceremony, Yin Yong delivered a speech entitled "Smart Development and Urban Governance" at the plenary session of the Thematic Forum on Sub-national Cooperation. He said that Beijing will promote smart city development with the top standards through the three systems of planning control, platform support and data governance, sound digital infrastructure, improved security mechanisms, enhanced technological innovation and more open application scenarios, so as to steadily enhance the city's smart governance. With endless opportunities for smart city development arising from the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, Beijing will keep to its strategic positioning as the capital, push forward the smart transformation, and strive to build a new smart city that satisfies the people.
With the theme of "Deepening Sub-national Cooperation to Promote Common Development" and co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, this event is one of the six thematic forums of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Speakers at the opening ceremony include Yang Wanming, President of the CPAFFC; Anouphab Tounalom, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), Secretary of the Vientiane Municipal Party Committee, and President of Vientiane People’s Council; Filip Vujanovic, Former President of Montenegro; and Korn Dabbaransi, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and President of Thai-Chinese Friendship Association.
Heads of relevant ministries of the Central Government and Beijing Municipality, and other provincial and municipal leaders, as well as some foreign dignitaries, attended the opening ceremony.
(Written by Fan Junsheng)