Initiative is about innovation and tests

In his keynote speech at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on May 14, President Xi Jinping said "we should build the Belt and Road into a road of innovation". Xi mentioned "innovation" 15 times in his speech, which clearly showed the difference between the Belt and Road Initiative and other similar initiatives.

First, the initiative doesn't focus only on trade area construction, it also aims to improve infrastructure for better connectivity, policy coordination, and exchange of goods and services. In this regard, the initiative transcends the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

TPP negotiations were once strongly opposed by the Japanese people, and caused panic in the Vietnamese footwear industry, which saw it as a harbinger of destruction. In contrast, China's initiative seeks coordination and cooperation among not only economies but also cultures.