Since the New Year, the Tiancheng Agricultural Machinery Factory, located in the 29th Regiment of Tiemenguan City, Xinjiang, has been deeply cultivating overseas markets around the "Belt and Road" initiative. The export volume of its independently developed advanced agricultural machinery has shown a good trend of continuous growth. So far, more than 130 units (sets) of agricultural machinery have been exported to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, achieving a "good start" in the first month of 2019 and becoming a highlight of the foreign trade development of local private enterprises. The picture shows workers at the Tiancheng Agricultural Machinery Factory in the 29th Regiment of Tiemenguan City, Xinjiang, loading agricultural machinery for shipment to Tajikistan on January 22, 2019. Photo by Xu Mingsheng (People's Vision)

　　Since the "Belt and Road" initiative was proposed in 2013, China has always adhered to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, guided by the Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, and aimed at building a community of shared future and interests. It has received extensive attention and positive response from countries along the routes and the international community.

　　Today's world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is complex and volatile. Under such circumstances, the "Belt and Road"—a great initiative originating in China and belonging to the world—has been translated from concept into action, from vision into reality, promoting a new pattern of interconnected development between China and the world, and has become the most popular global public good provided by China.

　　Recently, many international think tanks have published research reports, positively evaluating the achievements and prospects of the "Belt and Road" construction, and highly praising the significance and impact of the "Belt and Road" initiative on regional development and global governance.

　　New Opportunities for Regional Stability and Development

　　Many international think tank reports believe that the "Belt and Road" is not China's "solo" but a "chorus" advocating mutual benefit and win-win results for all countries along the routes, providing rare opportunities for regional stability and development.

　　The Russian International Affairs Council published a report titled "The Elephant in the Room: Views on Connectivity," emphasizing the importance of the "Belt and Road" initiative for strengthening cooperation among countries. "The elephant in the room" is an English proverb referring to something obvious that is ignored. The report believes that when it comes to the "Belt and Road" initiative and connectivity strategies, every country involved can find competing interests and issues—whether in the geopolitical or economic field. "Nevertheless, we can still find many common cooperation projects."

　　In December 2018, the Russian International Affairs Council and the German Council on Foreign Relations co-hosted the roundtable "Connecting Eurasia: EU-Russia-China-Central Asia Connectivity Strategy Dialogue." Assistant Professor Bossuyt of Ghent University mainly discussed how to align the "Belt and Road" initiative with Central Asia and the European continent. He said that connectivity refers to how countries and cities are better connected through transportation to improve interregional trade. Central Asia is basically a landlocked region, and in terms of trade with the rest of the world, Central Asia is suffering from geographical disadvantages. By strengthening connectivity, the Central Asian economy will certainly benefit.

　　Bossuyt said that in fact, China hopes the EU will actively participate in the "Belt and Road" initiative. At the same time, the sustainability of connectivity is also a core issue facing the EU. Without the "Belt and Road" initiative, there would be no EU connectivity strategy.

　　The report by the Australian think tank Lowy Institute focuses on ASEAN and the "Belt and Road" initiative. The report points out that surveys show that for globally oriented companies, better free trade agreements and industry standards are the most useful policy measures. From the perspective of economic diplomacy, in a changing global environment, many companies seem to be turning to intra-regional trade. The proportion of Asian companies viewing North America as their largest growth market fell from 29% to 21%, while the proportion expecting the rise of Chinese companies rose from 12% to 16%. The report believes that geopolitical uncertainty may be driving a more regionalized global economy.

　　The report by the International Crisis Group in Belgium affirms the positive significance of the "Belt and Road" initiative for Myanmar's development. The report believes that with the formation of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the economic integration process between China and Myanmar will accelerate.

　　The report states that officials from China and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2018. The plan includes an upgraded highway and a new high-speed railway line connecting the Kyaukpyu deep-water port in Rakhine State to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province in southwestern China, passing through northern Shan State and Mandalay, as well as some related trade, infrastructure and energy projects. The project is part of China's "Belt and Road" initiative and will provide the rapidly growing but landlocked economy of southwestern China with access to the Indian Ocean, as an alternative to the congested Malacca Strait. In the long run, this may lead to a reduction in the illegal economy, as profitable opportunities emerge in the formal economy, and as conflicts end and environmental safety hazards are eliminated, this will provide new opportunities for regional stability and development. 　　With the deepening of the "Belt and Road" construction, economic and trade relations between China and Turkey have become increasingly close, and rail transit enterprises represented by CRRC have frequently reported good news in the Turkish market. In nearly ten years since entering the Turkish market, CRRC has embarked on a development path from exporting finished trains to localized manufacturing, which is a microcosm of Chinese enterprises going from "going out" to "integrating in" in overseas markets. The picture shows an employee working in a newly produced subway car at the CRRC-MNG company in Ankara, Turkey, on December 12, 2018.

　　A New Platform for Global Development Cooperation

　　As a new platform for global development cooperation, the "Belt and Road" not only promotes China's integration into the world but also shares China's development opportunities with countries along the routes and the world, allowing all parties to ride the "express train" and "free ride" of China's development. It provides new possibilities for promoting the establishment of a more just and reasonable international order and demonstrates "Chinese wisdom" in promoting the building of a better future for mankind.

　　The Swiss World Economic Forum published a report titled "We Must Work Together to Build a New World Order, This Is How We Do It," praising the role of the "Belt and Road" initiative in transforming the world order. The report believes that what has not changed since the 1990s is that many countries still use so-called "rules" to cover up their power ambitions and legitimize expansion. This has exacerbated the tendency of core transatlantic countries to refuse to accept changes in the global order.

　　The report states that after the end of the Cold War, a European scholar commented that wars like the Yugoslav wars might not have had a direct impact on the economic and security interests of Western countries at first, but when Western countries tried to promote expansion through so-called "universal values," these wars set a "bad example." On the other hand, China is more willing to enhance its growing international influence through "cooperation" and "win-win" approaches under a globalist vision. China's "Belt and Road" initiative is seen as a new win-win measure for regional and globalism. The "Belt and Road" initiative not only poses new challenges to the management of the global public domain as a major trade route but also provides a new investment path (not just a trade route) and develops together with other new institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

　　Bossuyt believes that since China proposed the "Belt and Road" initiative in 2013, the topic of connectivity has become popular, and some of its content is new. However, many things China has done under this initiative have appeared before. The new part is that China plans to invest huge amounts of money to support this initiative. Other countries participating in this initiative have also begun to take the whole thing very seriously. It is clear that China attaches great importance to the "Belt and Road" initiative, which also proves China's rising leadership in the world.

　　The China Infrastructure Project Conference held by the ASEAN Research Institute of CIMB Bank Malaysia concluded: "The 'Belt and Road' initiative is important to ASEAN, especially given the region's significant infrastructure needs. The existing close economic relations between China and ASEAN can be used as a basis for greater cooperation in the future, as China has become ASEAN's largest trading partner for nearly 10 years. Both China and ASEAN need to address governance issues to ensure that the 'Belt and Road' initiative is not just a victory for one country but a success for all countries."

　　The report by the Australian Institute of International Affairs focuses on the opportunities the "Belt and Road" initiative offers Japan. The report believes that Japan has realized that China's "Belt and Road" initiative provides an important economic opportunity. In June 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a speech in Tokyo, stating that Japan is willing to expand cooperation with China in infrastructure construction under the "Belt and Road" initiative proposed by China. In October 2018, Shinzo Abe visited China. The visit led to a bilateral agreement between the two countries to cooperate on 52 joint infrastructure development projects in third countries, signaling Japan's "nominal" participation in the "Belt and Road" initiative.

　　The report "Australia's Diplomatic Journey between China and the US" published by the Australian Institute for Policy and Strategy endorses the government's strengthening of "Belt and Road" cooperation with China. The report points out that the Australian government is seeking cooperation with China. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said that as part of the "Belt and Road" initiative, Australia is willing to co-fund infrastructure projects with China. 　　The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge photographed on August 30, 2018. The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, built with China's assistance and connecting Malé, the capital of the Maldives, and the airport island, is a landmark project of the two countries in jointly building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Photo by Wang Mingliang (Xinhua News Agency)

　　A New Vision for Mutual Benefit in the World

　　From scratch, from point to area, the "Belt and Road" construction has gained the trust and support of more and more countries and international organizations. Key projects and demonstration projects have taken root, and the people of countries along the routes have gained more and more tangible sense of gain. Many international think tank reports are full of confidence in the development prospects of the "Belt and Road" initiative.

　　The Italian Institute of International Political Studies highly praised the new vision brought by the "Belt and Road" initiative to the world in its report "The World in 2019." The report believes that in the past five years, the demand for infrastructure has been rising on the global agenda, partly because many countries have made strong economic progress. As countries become richer, they can afford and need more infrastructure. At the same time, China has become a new aid donor and provides a compelling vision for developing countries with the "Belt and Road" initiative, funded by its own bilateral aid agencies and China-led multilateral institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

　　The report also points out that today, many developing countries are richer, freer, more urbanized, and more capable. Therefore, if Western countries (Italy, the United States, Europe and others) cannot meet the hopes and aspirations of developing countries in Africa and Asia, they will hand over their business to China. With the emergence of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank is committed to increasing infrastructure project loans by 40%, and the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation are also seeking to increase capital.

　　The European economic think tank Bruegel has published a research report stating that as more and more EU countries participate in global cooperation such as the "Belt and Road," Europe will increasingly benefit from the improvement of transportation infrastructure and the upgrading of transportation logistics brought by the "Belt and Road," continuously raising the level and quality of intra-regional trade. The report also believes that the "Belt and Road" construction will promote the close connection between the two major economic circles of Asia and Europe, and infrastructure construction cooperation will become a key step in achieving Asia-Europe connectivity, further promoting cooperation between Asia, mainly developing countries, and economically developed Europe, building a community of shared future of "mutual benefit" and contributing to world peace and development.

　　The report by the Singapore Institute of South Asian Studies also makes an optimistic prediction about the prospects of the "Belt and Road" initiative. The report points out that it is certain that given the scope and number of countries involved, the "Belt and Road" initiative has the potential to establish new global economic centers in the Indian Ocean and Pacific regions through its massive cross-border physical and digital infrastructure projects.

　　The report also believes that under the steady progress of the "Belt and Road" construction, other regional connectivity initiatives such as the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the International North-South Transport Corridor, and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union need to provide new prospects for a multi-level regional connectivity framework, with the aim of complementing rather than competing with the "Belt and Road" initiative.