Advance Belt and Road Initiative hand in hand, and forge ahead towards modernisation shoulder by shoulder

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Joko Widodo witnessed the trial operation of the co-built Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway. The railway, when completed, will run at a speed up to 350 kilometres per hour and reduce traffic time between the two cities from 3 hours to just over 40 minutes.

It was during his visit to Indonesia in 2013 that President Xi proposed the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, which together with the Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative proposed during his subsequent visit to Kazakhstan, constitutes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Over the past 10 years, the BRI has developed from a concept into reality and has been welcomed by the international community as a public good and a platform for cooperation. Inspired by the BRI, China has become the major trading partner to more than 140 countries and regions, and China’s investment has reached nearly $1 trillion by the end of July 2022.

The BRI meets global needs for infrastructure and reflects the common aspiration of countries, especially the developing ones, to pursue development. A World Bank study indicates that if all transportation infrastructure projects are carried out by 2030, the BRI will generate $1.6 trillion of revenue globally, with the bulk going to low and middle income countries. The BRI will also contribute to lifting 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty.

The BRI adheres to the principles of extensive consultation, joint efforts, shared and mutual benefits, follows internationally accepted practices, and remains open, inclusive and transparent. China welcomes all initiatives boosting global infrastructure building but opposes the practice of bloc politics. China provides concessional loans with low interest rates and long maturities to developing countries, based on their needs and focusing on economic growth and people’s livelihood, to help them achieve a virtuous circle of capacity for home-grown development and debt sustainability. China has initiated multilateral financing and investment platforms among which is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Operating on “lean, clean and green” principles, the AIIB has become the world’s second largest multilateral development agency after the World Bank. 

Therefore, the BRI does not throw partners into “debt trap” but lift them out of “poverty trap”. It is the “narrative trap” which maliciously discredits the BRI that we should reject.

Jordan is an “oasis of stability” in the Middle East and an important regional gateway. China and Jordan are natural partners in advancing the Belt and Road Initiative.

Partnering on the BRI, China-Jordan friendship carries on from generation to generation. Over 2,000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road connected China to the vast Arab region. A key post on the trade route, the city of Petra welcomed camel caravans carrying silk and tea from China and spices from the Middle East, starting long-lasting friendly exchanges between China and Jordan. In the last half century, under the strategic guidance of leaders of both countries, China and Jordan have carried on the Silk Road spirit and continuously written new chapters of friendship by constantly strengthening exchanges at all levels, furthering cooperation in all fields and entering into a strategic partnership.

Partnering on the BRI, China and Jordan converge on and complement each other in development strategies. China has embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects, taking high-quality development as the top priority and working to foster a new pattern of development with domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. Jordan has introduced integrated reforms for political, economic and administrative modernisation, launched the Economic Modernisation Vision and passed the new Investment Environment Law. Our two countries are both strong advocates and promoters of globalisation and oppose unilateralism and protectionism. Jordan is also a founding member of the AIIB. China is ready to strengthen the synergy of development strategies and policy dialogue with Jordan, to give full play to our complementary advantages, create more growth drivers in cooperation, and assist Jordan in improving its infrastructure and industrial capacity with “Made in China” and “Built in China”.

Partnering on the BRI, China and Jordan enjoy broader prospects of mutual benefit and win-win results. In recent years, our two countries have made impressive achievements in cooperation in trade, investment and contracting projects. According to Chinese statistics, bilateral trade hit a record high of $4.415 billion in 2021. It amounted to $5.38 billion in the first 10 months of 2022, an increase of over 50 per cent year on year. China’s direct investment in Jordan last year reached $20.24 million, a 30 per cent increase from a year earlier, while Jordan’s investment in China grew sevenfold. Project contracting has maintained a momentum of growth, highlighted by energy projects, especially those using local resources and new energy. China will continue to provide Jordan with new opportunities through her own new development.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Jordan. Over the past 45 years, our bilateral relations have withstood the test of ever changing international situations, and traditional friendship and practical cooperation in various fields continue to grow in scope and depth. Taking advantage of new horizons of our respective second centenary journeys, and aiming at high-standard, sustainable and people-centred growth, China is looking forward to high-quality Belt and Road collaboration to unleash more potential for cooperation, create more mutually beneficial results to bring about more concrete benefit to our two peoples and usher in a better future together.

The writer is Chinese Ambassador to Jordan