People work on the construction site of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC)'s Central Business District (CBD) project in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, about 50 kilometers east of Cairo, on June 1, 2019. (Xinhua)
BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- China said Wednesday that it is willing to work with partners to promote international cooperation on high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to constantly score new achievements.
Lu Kang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made the remarks at a press conference in response to a World Bank report regarding the BRI.
The World Bank on Tuesday released the report titled "Belt and Road Economics: Opportunities and Risks of Transport Corridors," saying the "BRI offers opportunities for countries to improve their infrastructure, to increase trade and connectivity among themselves and the wider world, and thus to increase growth and reduce poverty."
The report also said that the BRI projects could contribute to lifting 32 million people out of moderate poverty.
"China has taken note of the report," said Lu, adding that since it was first proposed six years ago, the BRI has yielded abundant achievements and has become a broadly participated platform for international cooperation and a widely welcomed international public goods.
A Chinese border policeman (1st L) introduces entry-exit related matters to drivers from Tajikistan in Karasu port, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 11, 2019. With the Belt and Road Initiative, the trade between Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has continued to develop. (Xinhua)
Lu said the BRI's vision and cooperation areas are highly compatible with most developing countries' development strategies and have made positive contributions to these countries' economic development and improvement of their people's livelihood.
The joint construction of the BRI has helped unlock the bottlenecks in infrastructure construction in many regions along the Belt and Road, boosted connectivity and contributed significantly to global trade facilitation and economic growth, said Lu.
"We think the World Bank's comments on this are objective," Lu said.
Photo taken on April 11, 2019 shows a container wharf at Qinzhou port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guangxi has played an increasingly important role under the Belt and Road Initiative. (Xinhua)
The report also mentioned that policy reforms are needed to increase transparency, improve debt sustainability, and mitigate environmental, social and corruption risks.
Lu said during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, various parties reached consensus on the concept of high-quality BRI development proposed by the Chinese side.
Lu said China stands ready to work with cooperation partners to jointly build the BRI, upholding the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits as well as openness, inclusiveness and transparency, implementing the open, green and clean approaches, and striving for achieving the goals of high-standard, livelihood-improving and sustainable development.
China is willing to work with cooperation partners to implement the outcomes of the forum, actively build global connectivity partnership and promote international cooperation on high-quality BRI development to constantly score new achievements.
"In this sense, this is consistent with relevant views and suggestions of the World Bank report," Lu said, adding he believed that relevant departments will conduct serious research on the suggestions given by the World Bank report.
