Belt and Road receiving global attention, at least at governmental level

World
Europe

World leaders are arriving in Beijing for the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which starts on Sunday. At a time when the global economic recovery is still sluggish with weak trade and investment, this forum is an excellent opportunity to review the gains and drive for closer and stronger partnership.

China is doing everything it can to spread the word about the Belt and Road Initiative.That means there is a lot of literature, including many books for journalists to load up on as they come to Beijing. The ambitious, economic and cultural measure is well known in China’s major cities. But journalists like Spain’s Antonio Broto from EFE Network found many Europeans have heard little about the Initiative.

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"Unfortunately, I think they still do not know much. They see this as like an Asian thing, like an investment in Asia,” said Broto. However, he also found the high level, high stakes gathering could change all of that. The forum has the attention of Spain’s highest political echelon.

"Right now, there are only about 100 journalists in this massive facility. But it will soon be much more crowded. Thousands of journalists have been credentialed for the forum, and why not, this is truly a global affair. With dozens of nations, hundreds of diplomatic leaders, and a trillion dollars at stake,” said CGTN’s Sean Callebs.

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These are the people who will spread the word about the measure that winds its way through the ancient Silk Road, land and sea. But this is a new deal, for a new time, the Belt and Road Initiative contains blueprints for carving out ports, rail-lines, roads and many other projects. Broto said Spain is looking to win contracts to build high-speed rail-lines -- a potentially lucrative deal.

As journalists prepare for the gathering, it is hard to overstate just what is at stake. Trade, and economic benefits could potentially touch almost every corner of the world. The Belt and Road Initiative could be the economic engine that drives the global economy through much of the 21st century.