Name: Li Qi, Director, Central Asia Institute, Shaanxi Normal University

Title: Building the Belt and Road to Facilitate Mutual Learning Between Different Civilizations, Enhance Cultural Cooperation and Promote People-to-People Bonds

Abstract:

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative helps to keep the global political and economic situation stable, share with other countries China’s experience and ideological theories of "building a community of common interest and shared future through inclusive cooperation, good publicity, smooth communication and integration” for global governance, eliminate "discourse hegemony” and promote the generation of a new international political and economic order.

The Belt and Road is a systematic initiative with top-level design. "Facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade and financial integration” are hardware projects while "policy coordination and people-to-people bonds” are "software ones”. We should enhance building these "software projects” by providing an innovative cooperation mechanism for cultural and people-to-people exchanges. That is the most effective means to promote Chinese culture, Chinese spirit, China’s image and Chinese expressions, improve effects of China’s soft power, help develop people-to-people bonds and forge powerful synergy among countries along the Belt and Road. We should strengthen academic research, theoretical support and discourse system building, and adopt targeted measures to avoid blindness. That is the key to promoting the Belt and Road in an orderly and effective manner. We should unearth, salvage and protect cultural heritages along the Belt and Road, which is closely related to regional social and economic development. That can not only improve the ecological and cultural environment there, but also promote regional economic construction and benefit local people. Besides, in order to achieve smooth communication and integration and harmonious coexistence among various countries and peoples, we should provide fresh and more practical cooperation opportunities as well as a path of sustainable development.

Key countries and regions along the Belt and Road are featured with geopolitical complexity, instability of social history, impeded development, conflicts and mutual doubts, different international status, unique governance models, uneven levels of economic development as well as political, economic and cultural interconnectivity. We are facing a series of theoretical and practical problems that needs to be solved urgently while building the Belt and Road. We always keep it in mind that strategic cooperation is not contrary to preventive measures and strategic benefits coexist with risks. Faced with both strategic opportunities and challenges, we carry out research and put forward the strategic design and solution of major issues to align our development strategies with other countries along the Belt and Road.

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