Seminar held to foster sustainable Belt and Road development

The seminar "Ten Years of the BRI: Media, Think Tank and Youth Dialogue 2023" took place in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province recently.?

The dialogue brought together representatives from mainstream media, think tank experts, and youth representatives coming from China and other Belt and Road countries.

Participants engaged in extensive, in-depth discussions around the event theme –"Peace, Inclusivity, and Sustainable Development," putting forward ideas and suggestions geared at promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. They further explored novel ideas, approaches, and arenas for fostering deeper communication and cooperation.

Yu Tao, Deputy Director of China International Communications Group, emphasized the need to achieve consensus through equal consultation, promote exchanges by establishing mechanisms, and advance cooperation by sharing responsibilities. He called for the creation of a platform for people-to-people exchanges and cultural integration in building the Belt and Road Initiative.

Qiao Wei, Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Charity Foundation of China and former Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Overseas Chinese, stressed the irreplaceable role of overseas Chinese in promoting the construction of Belt and Road Initiative. He suggested mobilizing and guiding the unique strength of overseas Chinese to participate in the initiative.

Grzegorz W. Kolodko, former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Professor of International Political Economics at Kozminski University, indicated that the Belt and Road Initiative should bolster cultural exchanges and other "soft elements" based on existing infrastructure, which could serve to enhance mutual understanding and exchange of cultures, values, and knowledge among BRI countries.

Peng Zhengang, executive vice-minister of the Publicity Department of the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee, urged young people from BRI countries, particularly those of Generation Z, to more actively engage in strengthening the bond of the Belt and Road Initiative.

During the dialogue, Li Shaoxian, Dean of the China-Arab Research Institute at Ningxia University, released the Report on the Situation Awareness of the High-Quality Construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Media think tanks and youth representatives from China, Egypt, South Korea, Cambodia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Poland, brought their insights and suggestions towards the BRI construction.

The event was jointly organized by the China International Communications Group and the Nanjing Peace Forum Organizing Committee. It was co-hosted by the Central and Eastern Europe and South-Central Asia Communication Center (People's Pictorial) of China International Communications Group and the Nanjing Municipal Government Information Office.