Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held from April 25 to 27 in Beijing, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced Friday.
With the theme of "Belt and Road Cooperation, Shaping a Brighter Shared Future," the second forum aims to bring about high-quality cooperation under the BRI framework.
More side events are planned for this year's forum, including 12 sub-forums focusing on practical cooperation. Also, a conference will be organized specifically for the business community for the first time.
A total of 37 heads of state or government and other leaders from Austria, Egypt, Italy and Laos will attend the forum. France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Japan, South Korea and the EU will send high-level representatives to the forum.
Over 5,000 participants from more than 150 countries are scheduled to attend the three-day event, which starts on Thursday, Wang told reporters at a news conference.
The BRF is the highest level platform for international cooperation under the Belt and Road framework and is the most important event China will host this year, the foreign minister said.
Wang said that 126 countries and 29 international organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China to jointly build the Belt and Road.
He revealed that the total trade volume between China and participating countries has surpassed US$6 trillion, investment has exceeded US$80 billion and the 82 cooperation parks built by China and relevant countries have created nearly 300,000 jobs, bringing enormous development opportunities for the countries involved and laying a solid foundation for China to host the second forum.
On April 22, China published a report elaborating on the progress, contributions and prospects of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The document, prepared by the office of the leading group for promoting the BRI, was released ahead of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held from April 25 to 27 in Beijing.
The Belt and Road Initiative is an initiative for peaceful development and economic cooperation, rather than a geopolitical or military alliance, said the report. “It is a process of open, inclusive and common development, not an exclusionary bloc or a ‘China club’.”
