Substantiating commonalities

By Zhang Ming | China Daily Global | Updated: 2019-05-13 08:03

With a shared commitment to multilateralism, China and the EU can strengthen their cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative

After six years of development, the Belt and Road Initiative is entering into a new stage in which high-quality is the watchword. To be specific, the initiative must be people-centered and sustainable.

To that end, a number of initiatives were launched at the just-concluded Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, such as the debt sustainability framework for the Belt and Road Initiative participating countries, the Beijing Initiative for a Clean Silk Road, the Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road Initiative and the Cooperation Initiative on a Silk Road of Innovation.

Also at the forum, China signed over 100 bilateral and multilateral cooperation documents with relevant countries and international organizations. Some countries and international financial institutions signed documents on third-market cooperation with China. In addition to bilateral and trilateral cooperation, multilateral cooperation platforms have been set up in over 20 sectors.

A broad structure of the Belt and Road cooperation has come into being, led by the Belt and Road Forum and supported by sectoral cooperation initiatives.

It was encouraging to hear European voices at the forum. Vice-President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic addressed the forum as the special representative of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and he said that, "A number of commonalities exist between the Belt and Road Initiative and the European Union's vision for connectivity. While we have disagreements on some issues, the EU and China have common challenges to tackle and a wide range of opportunities to explore."

So now, it is not a question of whether to participate or not, but of how. Here are a few thoughts on this:

The Belt and Road Initiative serves as a supplement rather than a replacement to the UN-centered multilateral international system. With a shared commitment to multilateralism, China and the EU can strengthen cooperation on global governance and address global challenges together. China and the EU should stand together and reject unilateralism and protectionism and preserve the WTO-centered multilateral trading system by converging their views on WTO reform through the joint working group.

China-EU cooperation has achieved some good results - 22 European countries have signed Belt and Road Initiative cooperation documents with China, and the China-Europe Railway Express has made over 14,000 trips, connecting 15 European countries and 51 European cities. More importantly, the rail services are basically balanced in both directions.

China welcomes more European countries getting involved in the Belt and Road, no matter whether individually or as a bloc. China and the EU have agreed to synergize their visions for connectivity. Now it's time to realize that.

We could start with areas where there is already a good basis for synergy and identify a list of key projects - going through the projects one by one and pushing them forward as long as the required conditions are met - so that some early fruit can be harvested.

More solid steps should be taken to promote cooperation in third-party markets, for instance, in Africa, Asia and Middle East, and to enhance nonphysical connectivity as well, such as customs facilitation measures, mutual exchanges of customs data and mutual recognition of regulatory results.

We could even be bolder by exploring the possibility of a joint feasibility study of China-EU free trade agreement, to truly connect the two big markets.

In terms of the digital economy, artificial intelligence and other emerging sectors, China and the EU have strengths in different ways, making our cooperation all the more meaningful.

China and the EU need to step up efforts to formulate a joint road map for science and innovation cooperation, to further implement the cooperation agreement on science and technology. Our businesses could have more cooperation on 5G, big data, cloud computing and e-commerce, to boost cyber connectivity, as well as work more closely on circular economy to leave a greener world for our children and grandchildren.

To embrace the age of innovation, it is crucial we remain open and inclusive. Protectionism and isolationism must be opposed.

Last but not least, high-quality cooperation calls for rules and standards. The Belt and Road cooperation is aligned with universally accepted rules, standards and best practices. The EU is a front-runner in regulation. China and the EU could step up dialogue, bilaterally or multilaterally, on rules and standards, especially with regard to AI, the digital economy and other new areas. Rules and standards should suit the local conditions of the host country.

China has launched some initiatives to promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, in terms of financing, anti-corruption and environmental protection. We welcome the contribution and good experience of EU partners. We could jointly provide high-quality and sustainable financial support to the Belt and Road Initiative development, in such formats as an interbank consortium and interbank credit.

As the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation is entering into a new stage, what we need is a new and more constructive approach, rather than wasting time on suspicion, and also actions to truly substantiate cooperation.

The author is ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the EU. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.