Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping speak at the opening of the "One Belt, One Road" forum

On 18 October, the opening ceremony of the third international forum "One Belt, One Road" took place in the House of the People's Assemblies in Beijing.

The heads of state of Russia and China made opening remarks at the opening of the event.

Xi Jinping emphasised that the aim of the BRI is to strengthen political, infrastructural, trade, financial and people-to-people ties, give a new impetus to the world economy, create new opportunities for global development and form a new platform for international economic cooperation. He noted that over the past 10 years, international cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road has moved forward, actively developing and yielding fruitful results. Cooperation has spread from the Eurasian continent to Africa and Latin America, and more than 150 countries and 30 international organisations have signed documents on the development of partnership relations, as reported by China Daily, a partner of TV BRICS.

“Through cooperation under the "Belt and Road" framework, China is opening its doors to the world even wider. China has become a major trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions and a major source of investment for even more countries. Both Chinese investment abroad and foreign investment in China have promoted friendship, cooperation, trust and hope"

Xi Jinping President of China

He added that China will work with all parties concerned to take the Belt and Road cooperation to a new stage of high-quality development, and make unremitting efforts to achieve the modernisation of all countries.

“China will take eight major steps to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation,” added Xi Jinping.

For his part, Vladimir Putin added that Russia and China, like most countries in the world, share the desire for equal, mutually beneficial cooperation to achieve universal sustainable and long-term economic progress and social well-being, while respecting civilisational diversity and the right of each state to its own model of development.

"It is important that there is a concrete agreement between Russia and China on the parallel and coordinated development of EurAsEC and the "One Belt, One Road" programme, and that a non-preferential agreement on trade and economic cooperation between EurAsEC member states and the People's Republic of China is being implemented"

Vladimir Putin President of Russia

The President of the Russia Federation mentioned some promising plans that are already beginning to be implemented in practice and harmoniously complement other infrastructure projects in Eurasia, including those promoted within the framework of the “One Belt, One Road initiative”, and together allow for the creation of a unified transport and logistics framework and diversification of cargo flows through more efficient, reliable and safe deliveries.

“Russia, which will chair the enlarged BRICS next year, has come forward with an initiative to establish a permanent commission on transport logistics within the framework of this association, which, with the participation of BRICS members, our partner countries and other interested states, could deal with the development of international transport corridors in their entirety,” added President of Russia.

The third forum of international cooperation "One Belt, One Road" is taking place in Beijing on 17-18 October, the event is timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the initiative of the same name.