Opinion: 'New Road Signs' with Chinese characteristics for the world

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Guest commentary by Ding Gang

"We should build the Belt and Road into a road for peace", said President Xi Jinping, when delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 14.

"The ancient silk routes thrived in times of peace but lost vigor in times of war. The pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative requires a peaceful and stable environment" Xi said.

The speech was full of deep concern and reflections on world peace and development, and clearly pointed out the purpose of proposing the Chinese led initiative.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, his wife Peng Liyuan and other distinguished guests of the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation attend a welcome banquet in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2017. / Xinhua Photo

The world today is going through a drastic transformation. Some Western scholars believe that this is a time of disorder, a time full of chaos and uncertainty. Why? Because they feel that the original order built and led by the West has been unable to cope with the changes. Many rules which have previously governed the world order are now seen as out of date and unable to fully adapt to current developments.

The full-scale rise of emerging countries, represented by China, coupled with the decline in competitiveness of Western countries and their retreat from globalization, have not only aggravated the turbulence but also plagued global governance with difficulties.

It is at such a critical moment that President Xi proposed the Belt and Road initiative. This is the road-map China offers to the world; it is also the road-map the world has been needing.

President Xi said that “some regions along the ancient Silk Road used to be a land of milk and honey, yet today, these places are often associated with conflict, turbulence, crisis and challenge. Such state of affairs should not be allowed to continue.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping, his wife Peng Liyuan and other distinguished guests of the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation pose for a group photo before a welcome banquet in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2017. / Xinhua Photo

Many of these conflicts and crises have their origins in and continue because of the existing world order, and thus cannot be solved by the very system that created them. The conundrum shows why the original order cannot be kept and must be readjusted.

Now, it's time to change the old way of solving these problems. As the conflicts persist and no new rules can be adopted soon, why can’t we put these issues aside and pursue a project or a program that is based on consensus, as the first step in establishing mutual trust.

The Belt and Road initiative is a framework, adhering to the principle of countries and regions respecting each other and sharing mutual trust and mutual interests. To build “win-win cooperation” into the very core of the new international relations, which stresses new ways to solve conflicts and crisis, and explores new ideas to lead the change in global governance.

This creative and visionary new road-map is concrete, pragmatic, and takes consideration of the overall situation.

During the forum, Chinese and foreign participants have conducted many bilateral and multilateral exchanges on all kinds of large and small cooperation projects, covering finance, industrial complementation, business cooperation and other specific issues.

The win-win concept is the essence of the "Chinese Approaches" (中国方案) raised by China to deal with hotspot issues in international affairs in recent years. It can also been seen as "New Road Signs" with Chinese characteristics for the world to move forward. The most important thing is that China has taken the lead in this path and has the will and the ability to help more countries to advance in this direction.

(Ding Gang, senior fellow of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author’s opinion, not necessarily the view of CGTN.)

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