China has become the largest trading partner of 25 countries.

　　On August 27th, the State Council Press Office held a press conference in Beijing, inviting Ning Ji Zhe, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for Promoting the Construction of the Belt and Road, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission and director of the National Bureau of Statistics, Qian Keming, Vice Minister of Commerce, and Zhang Jun, Assistant Foreign Minister, to introduce the progress and prospect of the five-year joint construction of the Belt and Road, and to answer questions from reporters.

　　Significant progress has been made in the construction of the "Belt and Road"

　　Five years after the "Belt and Road Initiative" was put forward, it has received positive global response and participation. After five years of practice, the "Belt and Road Initiative" has been transformed from concept and vision into practical action, and significant progress has been made.

　　Ning Jizhen said that the "One Belt, One Road" initiative and its core concept have been written into the outcome documents of important international mechanisms such as the United Nations, and 103 countries and international organizations have signed 118 cooperation agreements with China. Among the 279 achievements of the first "Belt and Road" international cooperation summit forum in 2017, 265 have been completed or turned into normal work, and 14 are being supervised and promoted, with an implementation rate of 95%.

　　In addition, in the past five years, the "Belt and Road" construction has made positive progress in paying close attention to key projects, strengthening financial support, and close cultural exchanges. It is estimated that by 2020, the number of two-way tourists between China and countries along the route will exceed 85 million, and the tourism consumption will be about 110 billion US dollars.

　　"The practice in the past five years shows that co-construction of ‘ Belt and Road ’ In line with the trend of the times and the development direction, international recognition is growing, there are more and more partners, and the influence continues to expand. " Ning Jizhe said that China is now the second largest economy in the world, and China’s economic growth has contributed more than 30% to the world’s economic growth. Cooperation between China and countries along the route is conducive to sharing opportunities for mutual development. In the past few years, China and countries along the route have made joint efforts to promote regional economic development and world economic recovery.

　　Zhang Jun said that the "Belt and Road Initiative" bears the good wishes of people of all countries to achieve common development and prosperity, meets the practical needs of coping with the risks and challenges of the world economy, shows the strategic vision of leading and building an open world economy, and also shows China’s constructive role as a responsible big country.

　　Economic and trade cooperation has achieved remarkable results

　　Qian Keming said at the press conference that in the past five years, China’s trade with countries along the route has been expanding. At present, China has become the largest trading partner of 25 countries along the route, and has signed or upgraded five free trade agreements with 13 countries along the route, which is based on the periphery and covers the "Belt and Road" and is accelerating the formation of a high-standard free trade network facing the world.

　　— — In the past five years, China’s total trade with countries along the route has exceeded 5 trillion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 1.1%.

　　— — In the past five years, China’s direct investment in countries along the route has grown at an average annual rate of 7.2%, and the newly signed foreign contracted projects in countries along the route have exceeded 500 billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 19.2%. At the same time, we will continue to relax the field of foreign investment access, create a high-standard business environment, and attract countries along the route to invest in China.

　　— — In the past five years, Chinese enterprises have built 82 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in countries along the route, with a cumulative investment of 28.9 billion US dollars, 3,995 enterprises have entered the zones, and the taxes and fees paid to the host country have totaled 2.01 billion US dollars, creating 244,000 jobs for the local area.

　　When answering a reporter’s question from Economic Daily, Ning Ji Zhe said that China and relevant countries have achieved positive results in promoting third-party market cooperation. Third-party market cooperation is an open, inclusive, pragmatic and effective mode of international cooperation, which embodies the "One Belt, One Road" concept of joint venture, joint construction and sharing, and helps enterprises in China and other countries, especially those in developed countries and multinational enterprises, to complement each other’s advantages, inject new kinetic energy into the economic development of third countries and achieve a win-win effect of "1+1+1>3". China is willing to work with relevant countries and enterprises to expand the scope of cooperation in third-party markets, adhere to the concept of co-construction, co-construction and sharing, open up markets for investment, production and operation, actively innovate cooperation modes, and support enterprises to open up new markets in various ways, including joint bid and joint investment, so as to achieve complementary advantages and win-win results.

　　China has always attached importance to strengthening debt management.

　　Ning Ji Zhe said that in the face of the new situation, the China Municipal Government will, as always, adhere to the principle of mutual cooperation, joint construction and sharing, adhere to the laws of the market economy and international rules, and promote the construction of the Belt and Road with high quality and high standards with win-win cooperation as the goal.

　　In response to concerns about the debt problem, Qian Keming said that China has always attached great importance to how to promote the economic growth of the host country without creating a burden. Therefore, it has always emphasized the choice of infrastructure investments with better economic benefits, especially those that can promote employment, increase tax revenue and increase exports. Developed countries and multilateral financial institutions are also welcome to participate and improve the efficiency of capital use.

　　Ning Jizhen said that the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" project has brought effective investment to relevant countries, not the so-called "debt trap". Judging from the actual situation, some national debt problems reported by foreign media are not necessarily related to the "Belt and Road" construction and its projects. Among them, some countries have high debt levels in the past, and some countries do have a heavy debt burden, but they mainly borrow a lot from other countries and international financial organizations for a long time. China is a latecomer, not the biggest creditor.

　　Ning Ji Zhe said that China has always attached importance to strengthening debt management for joint projects and investment cooperation with relevant countries. On the issue of investment and financing of the "Belt and Road" construction project, China has always adhered to the guidance of economic benefits, provided loans according to the actual situation of the project countries, supported the project construction, and avoided causing new debt risks and financial burdens to the project countries. Before providing financing for the project, Chinese banks will strictly measure the borrower’s liabilities and solvency, and will continue to track and monitor relevant country risks and sovereign risks after the loan. Developing economy and improving people’s livelihood are the most urgent tasks for developing countries. For some developing countries that really need urgent funds for economic construction, Chinese banks will also help them achieve debt sustainability by rationally designing financing structures and other ways.