By He Yin, People’s Daily
The Advisory Council of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation recently held its 2026 meeting in Urumqi, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Against a backdrop of global turbulence and change, council members held in-depth discussions on how to advance Belt and Road cooperation more effectively — focusing on capturing new opportunities, addressing emerging challenges, and deepening connectivity.
As uncertainty in the global economy grows, Belt and Road partner countries remain committed to connectivity, common development, and mutually beneficial cooperation. Together, they are channeling positive energy into the world — strengthening unity, collaboration, and shared success — while contributing to greater stability in an increasingly volatile international environment.
In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), offering the world a vision of shared development rooted in Chinese wisdom. In today’s complex and rapidly evolving global landscape, the initiative’s foresight and relevance have only become more apparent.
Council Members spoke highly of the global significance and enduring value of the BRI, noting that it has enhanced the resilience and growth potential of the world economy.
Over the past 13 years, the BRI has evolved from a Chinese proposal into a widely embraced international endeavor and an important global public good. More than 3/4 of the world’s countries have joined the Belt and Road cooperation framework. More than 4,000 cooperation projects have been launched, with cumulative investment exceeding $1 trillion.
Through concrete outcomes, the initiative has helped build a belt of development and a road to happiness to benefit all parties.
Thanks to the joint efforts, Belt and Road cooperation has entered a new stage of high-quality development. Infrastructure connectivity continues to improve, cooperation on rules and standards has deepened, and people-to-people ties among partner countries have grown increasingly close.
Over the past decade, China-Europe freight train services have seen their annual freight train trips skyrocket 10.8-fold, providing strong support for the stability and smooth operation of global supply chains.
During the same period, the Port of Piraeus in Greece, operated by a Chinese company, has been transformed from an aging Mediterranean port into an international shipping hub.
Meanwhile, the China-Laos 500-kilovolt power interconnection project is creating an “electricity highway” that provides new momentum for Laos’ development.
From landmark infrastructure projects to “small yet smart” livelihood programs, roads, bridges, ports, industrial parks, and equipment projects have facilitated the international application of Chinese technologies, standards, and equipment.
More importantly, they have addressed the development priorities of partner countries and the practical needs of local communities, ensuring that the benefits of cooperation take root and improve people’s lives.
As the world faces an ever-growing number of shared challenges, the BRI offers a development-centered approach to tackling global issues. It not only creates new opportunities for participating countries but also contributes Chinese wisdom to global governance.
At a time when unilateralism, protectionism, and bloc confrontation continue undermining the multilateral international order and fragmenting global cooperation, the BRI remains committed to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. It seeks to promote political trust, economic integration, and people-to-people exchanges, while advancing trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.
In the first half of this year, China’s trade with Belt and Road partner countries reached 12.97 trillion yuan ($1.92 trillion), up 14.8 percent year on year and accounting for 50.9 percent of the country’s total foreign trade. These figures underscore China’s unwavering commitment to opening up and its determination to further expand engagement with the world.
Mari Elka Pangestu, former managing director of development policy and partnerships at the World Bank, observed that China has taken the initiative in building multilateral cooperation platforms and proposing practical solutions, adding that Belt and Road cooperation has become an important platform for sustaining open global trade and technology transfer.
To address global challenges such as climate change, public health crises and imbalances in digital governance, China has actively promoted forward-looking international cooperation under the Belt and Road framework in areas such as green and low-carbon development, the digital economy and artificial intelligence.
Working with partner countries, China is advancing the development of the Green Silk Road, the Health Silk Road, and the Digital Silk Road, creating new opportunities and expanding new frontiers for global development and governance.
Looking ahead, China will remain a reliable partner to all participants in Belt and Road cooperation. Together with all parties, China will continue to promote the steady and sustained progress in Belt and Road international cooperation, ensuring that this broad avenue of mutual benefit, win-win cooperation and shared prosperity continues to expand.
Belt and Road cooperation brings unity, cooperation, shared success to world
