Despite the negative impact of the pandemic, trade volume among countries within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) remained stable in general and was better than expected. Bucking the trend, China-Europe Railway outperformed other freight expresses and helped the global resource supply and transport alongside the road.

 

According to a survey on sustainable development based on enterprises, half respondents are neutral about the prospects of global economic recovery, while 60 percent are optimistic about Asia recovery, read the 2021 Annual Report of Sustainable Development on Asia and the World released at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on Sunday.

 

Most entrepreneurs believe that in Asia, in addition to epidemic prevention and control measures, regional trade integration and strengthening cross-border infrastructure connectivity, through initiatives such as BRI and Connecting Euro-Asia, are among top main drivers of recovery, the report stated.

 

The high-quality joint pursuit of the BRI targets has achieved remarkable results. Facing with the pandemic, the construction of BRI has shown strong tenacity and vitality. Related projects have continued to be advanced, in which results of cooperation have been achieved, and trade and investment have grown against the trend. 

 

The trade volume of goods between China and BRI countries in 2020 amid the pandemic reached $1.35 trillion, up 0.7 percent on a yearly basis. The non-financial direct investment of Chinese enterprises in 58 countries along the BRI routes totaled $17.79 billion, an annual increase of 18.3 percent, statistics from the Ministry of Commerce of China showed.

 

 

"Digitally and physically, how do we make sure that we can have more trade and commerce when the world is connected by cross-border transportation? It has allowed commerce to happen because ultimately, human prosperity is about free movement of goods, services and people. We need ports, roads, and other infrastructure, but we have to build them greener," Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, said during a group interview at BFA on Sunday.

 

In 2020, the China-Europe freight trains made 12,400 trips, up 50 percent on a yearly basis and delivered 1.135 million TEUs, up 56 percent annually. The annual number of freight train trips between China and Europe exceeded 10,000 for the first time, and each month, the number of freight train trips between China and Europe stayed above 1,000, according to statistics from China Railway.

 

At present, China-Europe freight trains cover 97 cities in 21 countries in Europe. Meanwhile, the new western land-sea corridor linking Southwest China and Southeast Asia continues to expand to more countries. The freight train network began its connection with the marine Silk Road, gradually forming a comprehensive transport network.

 

"In fact, I think the China-Europe freight train trade is developing very well. During the epidemic, our China-Europe freight train showed a very good phenomenon. The volume of special sanitary and epidemic prevention supplies, personal protection, masks and other such supplies increased significantly. Overall, freight trains between China and Europe have become indispensable in the fight against the epidemic. Personally, I am very optimistic about the China-Europe freight trains and I think trade on these routes will continue to grow," said Jens Eskelund, Managing Director of Maersk China Ltd. and Vice President of European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, on Monday during a panel discussion at BFA.

 

Per data from China's National Development and Reform Commission, the China railway express connecting China and Europe has accumulatively transported 11.05 million items of epidemic control materials weighing 89,000 tons from last year.

 

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Member Council of Advisors of BFA and former Prime Minister of France, said on Sunday that he is very optimistic about the idea of a healthy BRI.

 

"Although it's hard right now, because we have the epidemic and a lot of weaknesses, and we need to get some of our strategies back on track so that we can have a new energy to deal with problems. We now have a lot of things that people don't want to see, like the new cold war and other tensions, and we know that we need an initiative like BRI, which is important for health, and important for our planet," said Raffarin.

 

Over the next 30 years, there will be a huge gap on job opportunities between countries. And we should figure out how to create new jobs. For example, the BRI has created some jobs in the relevant developing countries, said Giuseppe Crocetti, Chief of Mission for China and Mongolia of International Organization for Migration on Monday at Boao Forum.

 

 

Carbon neutrality, green development and other sustainable development have been the hottest topics at this year's BFA. The green technology and future path for BRI was also widely discussed.

 

"The green BRI is moving in the right direction, with 2020 the first year to have witnessed more investment in solar energy and wind power than in coal. We still have a lot of work to do but I'm very optimistic that we will be able to finish the work," Erik Solheim, Convener of BRI International Green Development Coalition Advisory Committee and former executive director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), told the Global Times on Sunday at the Boao Forum.

 

Over the past year, regional cooperation platforms in Asia, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, have brought out initiatives to facilitate green transformation, as well as enhance transportation connectivity and shape up digital economy, according to a report on Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Process released by the BFA on Sunday.

 

As BRI has become increasingly associated with concrete projects and cooperation schemes, the vast hinterland of Eurasia will gradually become more central to the economic opening-up and the global trade system. In the future, BRI countries will continue to improve cooperation and frameworks and enhance the potential of BRI in pandemic containment and post-pandemic recovery, said Boao participants.