The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed Railway in Indonesia was successfully put into trial operation, the Golden-Port Expressway in Cambodia was opened to traffic, the China-Laos Railway cargo terminal was fully operational, and Vilana Airport in the Maldives put into operation its first 4F-class runway and modern water-flight terminal. Recently, a large number of key high-quality Belt and Road cooperation projects between China and its neighbors have been in full swing and made positive progress, which is another vivid example of deepening mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and its neighbors.

The results are solid

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, which is under construction in Indonesia, has been successfully tested on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali. As a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed Railway has made its debut, once again allowing the world to witness the "Chinese speed" of high-standard construction.

Recently, there has been a lot of good news about strengthening connectivity between China and its neighbors. During General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to China, China and Vietnam agreed to speed up the negotiation and signing of cooperation plans between the two governments to promote the Belt and Road Initiative and the framework of the two corridors and One Economic Circle. Under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China and Pakistan will speed up the upgrading and upgrading of the Gwadar Port No.1 railway line and other projects. At the China-Singapore Bilateral Cooperation Mechanism meeting, China and Singapore announced important outcomes in connectivity, agreed to further align their strategies and jointly advance the construction of new land-sea routes.

At the same time, a large number of key projects pursued by China and neighboring countries have come to fruition.

In September, a power generation ceremony was held as scheduled for the Serek Wind Power project, which was jointly invested and developed by PowerChina and Kazakhstan Samluk Energy Company. The project will generate 230 million KWH of electricity annually when it is put into operation.

According to the statistics of China Customs, since the opening of China-Laos Railway, the total value of international freight has exceeded 10 billion yuan. The golden Passage continues to play a prominent role, increasingly becoming an accelerator of regional connectivity and a new engine of economic cooperation.

"China has said many times that it welcomes neighboring countries to board the express train of China's development so that the fruits of China's development will benefit its neighbors more. Driven by the strong desire for cooperation between China and its neighbors, the Belt and Road cooperation has made many tangible achievements in China's neighborhood in recent years. In infrastructure, in particular, a number of important projects have been completed on schedule, producing positive economic and social effects." Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy Research Institute of the Belt and Road executive director Xie Laihui analysis said.

"The successful trial operation of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed Railway lets countries see a vivid example of Belt and Road cooperation," he said. Liu Zhiqin, a senior researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, pointed out that China and its neighboring countries enjoy a deep foundation of friendship due to their close proximity to each other, which is an important reason why the Belt and Road cooperation has made new achievements.

Excited endogenous force

It is reported that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway will be completed in 2023, becoming the first high-speed railway in Indonesia and even Southeast Asia. The travel time between Jakarta and Bandung will be reduced from more than three hours to 40 minutes, which will greatly improve local traffic conditions and enhance regional connectivity.

"The positive progress of important Belt and Road cooperation projects between China and neighboring countries will play a very positive role in promoting the economic and social development of the host countries. Take ASEAN as an example. China is ASEAN's largest trading partner and largest export destination. Asean is now China's largest trading partner. As the Belt and Road cooperation helps ASEAN enhance its connectivity, ASEAN countries will be able to more conveniently enjoy the dividends of China's economic growth and benefit more directly from the opening up of the Chinese market. The same is true for the five Central Asian countries. The high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative has further integrated these countries into the global industrial chain, supply chain and value chain." "Said Xie Laihui.

In September, the relevant departments of China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Construction Project (the Kyrgyzstan-Uzbek section). In October, the survey and mapping of key proposed routes of the China-Kyrgyzdian-Uzbekistan railway were completed, and other work, including geological exploration, is being carried out in an orderly manner according to the established work plan.

Kyrgyz President Sadr Zaparov said the Belt and Road Initiative has created opportunities for the development of Central Asia and turned the region into a transcontinental transport hub connecting the east, west, north and south. "Under the framework of Belt and Road cooperation, promoting the implementation of the railway construction project between China and Uzbekistan will be an important measure to fully unleash the potential of regional transit transport," he said.

"By jointly building the Belt and Road, China is helping neighboring countries stimulate endogenous growth drivers." Song Wei, a professor of International relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that China has always followed the principle of sincerity, amity, good faith and the right approach to justice and interests in its cooperation with neighboring countries and other developing countries. In the selection of projects, adhere to the development needs of the host country, sincere support and help. On the outcomes of cooperation, we have actively promoted the implementation of these outcomes, with commitments and actions. In addition to infrastructure projects, China's cooperation with neighboring countries also attaches great importance to the areas of people's livelihood, such as poverty reduction, environmental protection, medical care and disaster prevention, and promotes a large number of projects that benefit local people's livelihood. Moreover, the BRI is against isolation and exclusivity. In advancing relevant cooperation projects, China has been sincere, focused on development cooperation, followed the principle of win-win cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, consulted on an equal footing, and promoted relevant cooperation to draw on each other's strengths.

"The implementation of a key cooperation project will promote the development of local warehousing, logistics, transportation and other aspects, and can also cultivate hundreds of related enterprises and production, supply and consumption chains, which will play an important role in the development of the host country." Liu Zhiqin pointed out that China's Belt and Road cooperation with neighboring countries has achieved fruitful results, which has injected more confidence and vitality into the development of neighboring countries and further enhanced the appeal and vitality of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Higher Motivation

"In the future, as the Belt and Road cooperation goes deeper and deeper, there will be more room for cooperation between China and neighboring countries in green and low-carbon, digital economy, human resources development and other fields." Xie Laihui analyzed that how China will build a "green Silk Road" with neighboring countries and lead them along the road of green and low-carbon development through its own ecological civilization construction is a hot topic of the international community. At the same time, the world is experiencing the fourth industrial Revolution, and all countries want to catch up with the new wave of technological innovation. Neighboring countries are speeding up the cultivation of new industries, new forms and new models of digital economy. China can not only provide technical support to its neighbors, but also carry out more cooperation in the field of digital economy governance. In addition, by providing various vocational training, China has helped neighboring countries train a large number of highly skilled personnel, so that the demographic dividend of these countries will become a new driving force for economic growth. This is also an important direction for China's cooperation with neighboring countries in the future Belt and Road cooperation.

Song Wei believes that on the basis of "hard connectivity", China will strengthen the sharing of governance experience with neighboring countries under the framework of Belt and Road cooperation, help neighboring countries improve their macroeconomic governance capacity and business environment, and integrate the development demands of developing countries including neighboring countries. We will make global economic governance more fair, just and equitable.

Neighboring countries have expressed their willingness to jointly build the Belt and Road with China and further strengthen cooperation with China.

Thailand's 4.0 development strategy and China's Belt and Road Initiative can be integrated, and China has good experience in science and technology, innovation, high-speed rail construction and talent training, Thai Ambassador to China Atthayuth Xisam said recently. As a developing country, Thailand needs to learn from China's experience.

"China is committed to mutual respect and win-win cooperation, building friendship and partnership with its neighbors, and taking concrete actions to promote the building of a community of shared future with its neighbors, which has won the welcome and trust of its neighbors. It is worth noting that China's cooperation with neighboring countries has been focused on helping these countries make up for their weaknesses in the process of development and making the fruits of all-round cooperation more sustainable." Liu Zhiqin said. Editor/He Yuting