The Silk Road Spirit
A towering Chinese initiative: The Silk Road Spirit
By Dr Andrestinos N. Papadopoulos, Ambassador a.h.
Who does not know the Silk Road and the stories of Marco Polo, which for generations nurtured the peoples of Asia, Europe and Africa who benefited from the opening up of new routes of trade and cultural exchanges? Champions in taking far-reaching initiatives, the government of the People's Republic of China decided to revive the Silk Road Spirit which is the expression of "peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit". Concerned by the fact that the international financial crisis still persists, the world economy is recovering slowly, the global development is uneven and the world is undergoing major adjustments and faces big challenges, the Chinese President Xi Jinping, in the Autumn of 2013, took the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economy Belt and the 21st century Maritime Silk Road (hereinafter referred to as the Belt and the Road).
Symbolising communication and cooperation between the East and the West, the Belt and the Road is designed to uphold the global free trade regime and the open world economy in the spirit of open regional cooperation. It is aimed at promoting orderly and free flow of economic factors, highly efficient allocation of resources, deep integration of markets and achieving economic policy coordination and more in-depth regional cooperation. To strengthen cooperation countries along the Belt and Road should promote policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds.
The Belt and Road Initiative is in line with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and upholds, in particular, the principles of mutual respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence. The Initiative is open to all countries and international and regional organisations with a view to benefiting wider areas of the world. Its modus operandi, which abides by market rules, aims, inter alia, at improving the region's infrastructure, putting in place a secure and efficient network of land, sea and air passages, further enhancing trade and investment facilitation, establishing a network of free trade areas, maintaining closer economic ties, deepening political trust, enhancing cultural exchanges and promoting mutual understanding, peace and friendship among peoples of all countries.
For more than a year, the Chinese government has been actively promoting the building of the Belt and Road Initiative. A number of international summits, forums, seminars and expos on the theme of the Belt and Road Initiative have been held in order to increase mutual understanding, reach consensus and deepen cooperation. Special mention should be made to the fact that President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have visited over 20 countries to explain the rich contents and positive implications of the Belt and Road Initiative. As a result, more than 60 countries and international organizations have shown interest in taking part in the development of the Initiative.
Since peace, development and win-win cooperation have become the prevailing trend of our times, and the development of the Belt and Road Initiative is open to all countries, the purpose of this article is not only to make known its content, but to encourage the Cyprus government as well to seek an active participation in it.
