The "Silk Road Economic Belt" International Symposium for Financial Think Tanks was held on the 23rd in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

On May 23, the "Silk Road Economic Belt" International Symposium for Financial Think Tanks, hosted by Economic Daily, the Eurasian Club of Economists and the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, and organized by China Economic Net, was convened in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, drawing widespread attention. How can the building of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" be advanced? What changes will the "Silk Road Economic Belt" bring to the region and the world? Around the theme of "Joint Hands, Win-Win, Innovation, Prosperity," the attending guests expressed their views and offered suggestions.

Win-win cooperation is the foundation

For the building of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" to succeed, an inclusive spirit is essential above all. Countries have different political and economic systems and their own ways of governance. In the process of building the "Silk Road Economic Belt," mutual respect and inclusiveness are crucial.

Marc Uzan, Executive Director of the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, said that the main purpose of building the "Silk Road Economic Belt" is to promote cooperation between China and Central Asia and Europe, which will certainly resonate with all parties. Qu Xing, Director of the China Institute of International Studies, believes that the win-win spirit is the basic guarantee for the success of the "Silk Road Economic Belt." In the process of road network construction, the domestic layout needs of the relevant countries must be taken into account. If the long-term benefit concerns of transit countries are not considered and they are treated merely as a passage for goods, the "Silk Road Economic Belt" cannot operate smoothly.

The building of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" should also uphold an open spirit. Not only should countries along the route participate jointly, but other countries and regions of the world should also be welcome to participate. This is a concrete manifestation of win-win outcomes for all parties and the key to the success of the "Silk Road Economic Belt." Jin Zhongxia, Director of the Financial Research Institute of the People's Bank of China, believes that in advancing the building of the "Silk Road Economic Belt," the following basic principles should be upheld: first, openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit and win-win results. Fully accommodate each other's concerns and promote the common prosperity of countries along the route. Second, highlight priorities and pursue pragmatic cooperation. Centering on the theme of economic cooperation, make full use of existing mechanisms and platforms and deepen pragmatic and equal cooperation. Third, put people first and pursue comprehensive cooperation. With the aim of improving the living standards of people in countries along the route and promoting people-to-people bonds, expand cooperation in the humanities, science and technology, and education, and build a new pattern of large-region cooperation.

Connectivity should come first

To advance the building of the "Silk Road Economic Belt," infrastructure connectivity should come first. Zhao Jinping, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Economic Research at the Development Research Center of the State Council, believes that infrastructure connectivity is the spatial carrier and important foundation for strengthening cooperation among countries along the route. Only when roads are connected can people, goods and financial flows be connected. China should give full play to its own advantages and make contributions to promoting infrastructure construction. Necessary financial support for connectivity construction can be provided by encouraging private capital to enter infrastructure investment, jointly funding the establishment of policy-based financial institutions for infrastructure development with regional countries, or seeking assistance from international organizations. Useful experience from the EU in strengthening investment and financing mechanisms for infrastructure connectivity can also be drawn on, giving play to the positive role of various types of capital.

Jin Zhongxia believes that all parties should give full play to comparative advantages and prioritize connectivity in public transport and infrastructure. He said that countries along the route can study the establishment of a unified whole-journey transport coordination mechanism and promote the construction of port infrastructure. They should further study and promote advanced technologies in the transport sector and strengthen the depth and breadth of cooperation in high-tech fields. At the same time, countries should strengthen financial cooperation to provide services and support for the development and construction of the transport sector. In terms of specific cooperation models, various approaches such as public-private partnership, the "debt plus equity" model, joint investment by countries with shared returns, and asset securitization can be explored.

Policy communication as a guarantee

Advancing trade facilitation cooperation among countries along the route and improving bilateral and multilateral policy coordination and communication mechanisms are very important for building the Silk Road Economic Belt.

WTO Deputy Director-General David Shark said that trade facilitation is very important and indispensable for building the "Silk Road Economic Belt." He believes that trade facilitation can reduce the costs of the Silk Road, which is especially beneficial to developing countries along the route.

Zhao Jinping suggested that the SCO platform should be used to sign as soon as possible cooperation agreements among countries along the route on convenient customs clearance for road, rail and air transport, unify customs clearance requirements such as customs inspection and quarantine, and simplify procedures along the way; explore the possibility of relevant interested countries jointly establishing a joint construction and operation company for the New Eurasian Land Bridge, support joint ventures and cooperation among logistics enterprises of countries along the route, achieve unified operation and management, and reduce transport costs. At the same time, eligible members within the region should be encouraged to establish bilateral and subregional trade and investment arrangements to increase the closeness of cooperation among them.

Zhao Jinping also believes that high-level dialogue has opened the prelude to building the "Silk Road Economic Belt," and continuing to strengthen policy coordination and communication among governments at all levels is an important guarantee for the smooth progress of economic belt construction. In the near term, the multilateral coordination function of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" can be incorporated into the SCO framework to enhance the degree of participation of regional members. In the medium and long term, a dialogue and coordination mechanism with broader participation should be established among Eurasian countries to meet the needs of building the Eurasian international transport corridor.

Financial cooperation needs to be strengthened

Experts at the symposium pointed out that the current level of financial cooperation among countries along the route is relatively low and is very likely to become a prominent obstacle constraining future trade, investment and industrial cooperation. Li Ruogu, Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of China, believes that from the perspective of financial cooperation, existing multilateral cooperation still faces some differences and difficulties on issues such as currency regionalization and the building of regional financial institutions; bilateral cooperation is mainly concentrated in areas such as trade settlement and currency swaps, and the fields and scale involved remain relatively limited. The lagging construction of cross-border financial service networks has also, to a large extent, constrained the development of economic and trade cooperation.

Li Ruogu said that if financial cooperation is done well, it can become a booster for the development of the "Silk Road Economic Belt." At present, countries can deepen financial cooperation in the following aspects: first, actively promote bilateral local currency settlement and, when conditions are ripe, promote the establishment of a multilateral settlement system for the "Silk Road Economic Belt." Second, gradually expand the scale of currency swaps and build a currency swap network covering countries along the "Silk Road Economic Belt." Third, actively explore new models of capital operation with joint funding and shared benefits. Fourth, promote the steady opening of financial markets and build cross-border financial service networks. Fifth, strengthen international financial governance and financial regulatory cooperation and enhance financial policy coordination.

Although reviving the Silk Road has become a consensus of the international community, advancing the building of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" still faces many difficulties and challenges. Zhao Jinping believes that there are many constraining factors in accelerating the construction of international transport corridors. First, overall infrastructure construction in the Eurasian junction areas is relatively lagging. Second, there are many barriers and obstacles in transport trunk lines. Third, there is a large difference in the volume of freight traveling in each direction on the Eurasian railway corridor, and transport costs are relatively high. Fourth, strategic mutual trust among countries in the region needs to be further strengthened.

At present, for most Asian countries, development is the greatest security. Experts at the symposium believe that building the "Silk Road Economic Belt" is precisely an effort to "strengthen the foundation and dredge the source" by focusing on the theme of development. Promoting common development and regional integration through economic belt construction can not only improve people's livelihoods in various countries but also help promote sustainable security in the region. As long as all parties build consensus and proceed step by step, the "Silk Road Economic Belt" will surely become broader and broader.