Seize the “One Belt, One Road” Opportunities : A Lecture by H.E. Ambassador Wu Jianmin
2016-06-02

    President Xi Jinping put forward the initiative for construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-century Maritime Silk Road with common efforts during his visit to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in September and October 2013 respectively. Since then, these propositions have aroused a lot of attention around the world and became the top priority in the national development strategy. To improve the competence of the staff with more diplomatic awareness and a broader view of the world, this Department invited Mr. Wu Jianmin, former Chinese Ambassador to France, to give a lecture on the “One Belt, One Road” initiative on the afternoon of 16 March, attended by an audience of 130 odd people, including Ms. Lin Li and Mr. Liu Yong, Deputy General Managers of the HSC, together with BDS and HSC executives and employees.

    Ambassador Wu shared his view on the “One Belt, One Road” initiative from three perspectives :

    I. The importance of having an accurate view of the world. Comparing Zheng He’s westward voyages in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) with Columbus’ discovery of the “New World” and Emperor Kang Xi’s rule of prosperity with Russia’s Peter the Great, who decided to learn from the West to build his empire stronger, Mr. Wu’s narrative gave us this moral : we should keep our minds open when looking at the world or we might lose historical opportunities.

    II. Watch out for the major global changes and follow the historical trend. After the two World Wars, people realized that the eternal theme for the human beings should be peace and development. Despite of regional conflicts and unstable factors, the 3^rd World War is far from having begun. In today’s world of globalization and in the face of enormous issues and challenges, the members of the entire mankind should make themselves the eventual survivors with concerted efforts and by sharing joys and woes.

   III. Looking at the "One Belt and One Road" initiative in the context of a bigger picture. As East Asia has now evolved into an major center of the world’s growth, the Chinese government put forward the “One Belt, One Road” initiative from an integrated perspective of the world. The “Silk Road Economic Belt” covers Southeast and Northeast Asia to eventually reach Europe, generating a trend of Eurasian economic integration. The “21^st Century Maritime Silk Road” links up the Eurasian continent with Africa on the sea to create a closed loop, together with the “Silk Road Economic Belt”, which is aimed to bring together the booming East Asia Economic Rim and the developed countries in Europe with the intermediate hinterlands that are blessed with enormous economic development potentials, so as to build up a community of common interests, responsibilities and destiny through joint discourse, construction and sharing.

    In the Q-A session, the audience asked questions about how the Chinese cities across the country should connect up with the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, and cope with the DPRK nuclear issue, the TPP agreement as well as regional and international hot issues, to which Ambassador Wu, drawing on his experiences and knowledge as a senior diplomat, presented his incisive and enlightening analyses, which were well received and highly appreciated.

    The “One Belt, One Road” initiative is an important opportunity that China gives to the world, as well as for its own development. With collective wisdom and efforts, the HSC has succeeded in winning the AIIB property management contract and opening a visa application “Green Channel” with numerous foreign embassies in Beijing, e.g. Kazakhstan, which showcases the BDS-HSC determination and capability in opportunity seizing. The lecture offered a clear road map for doing a better job in providing services to diplomatic missions, with a stronger sense of responsibility, and contributing to the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.