Held from May 17 to 18 in Chongqing, the Belt and Road Forum for Interconnected Land-Sea Development 2023 attracted dignitaries, think tank experts, and business representatives from the participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to facilitate future cooperation for mutual development.

This is the second time for Chongqing to hold the Belt and Road Forum for Interconnected Land-Sea Development.

5月17日至18日，2023“一帶一路”陸海聯(lián)動發(fā)展論壇在重慶舉行。來自“一帶一路”合作伙伴國家的政黨政要、智庫學者、工商界人士，跨越山海齊聚重慶，共商發(fā)展大計，共話合作發(fā)展藍圖。

這是重慶舉辦的第二屆“一帶一路”陸海聯(lián)動發(fā)展論壇。

中外嘉賓參觀重慶市規(guī)劃展覽館。

The first edition was in June 2019.Back then, the Chongqing Municipal Government and the Silk Road Think Tank Association jointly launchedChongqing Proposal on the Belt and Road Forum for Interconnected Land-Sea Developmentand established the Chongqing International Exchanges Think Tank.Thematic international symposiums,matchmaking events for Chinese and foreign entrepreneurs,and field visits created numerous cooperation opportunities for all parties.

This year’s forum also yielded fruitful results, including 1) the joint establishment of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) Think Tank Association; 2) the unveiling of ILSTC International Exchanges and Cooperation Center; 3) the signing of three cooperation framework agreements between three universities in Chongqing and international think tanks; 4) the signing of the cooperation framework agreement on the mutual learning and exchanges of rural revitalization between five international think tanks and the Pengshui Autonomous County; 5) the organizing of a series of field visits and seminars to facilitate the implementation of the consensus reached in the Forum.

During the Forum, experts from Chinese and international think tanks have put forward precious advice and plans on regional connectivity, inter-connected land-sea development, and cooperation and investment opportunities in emerging industries.

Xu Erming, Chairman of Siam Think Tank of Thailand,noted that Chongqing could learn from the cooperation between relevant countries and Chinese provinces and cities to sign a “mini version”of the free trade agreement with Thailand, fully exerting Chongqing’s soft power to provide high-quality financial and data services, to improve warehousing and logistics services, and to work with Thailand to develop a logistics hub for China-bound exports jointly.

Danijel Nikolic, Chairman of the Council of Belt and Road Research Center in Serbia and Assistant Secretary-General of the Government of Serbia, proposed to host and organize similar forums in Serbia, being a good host just like Chongqing.

2019年6月，重慶舉辦首屆論壇，重慶市政府和“一帶一路”智庫合作聯(lián)盟共同發(fā)布了《“一帶一路”陸海聯(lián)動發(fā)展論壇重慶倡議》，成立了重慶國際交往智庫。同時，舉辦專題國際研討、中外企業(yè)家對接會、實地考察交流活動等，為各方創(chuàng)造更多合作機會。

本屆論壇，碩果累累：聯(lián)合發(fā)起成立“西部陸海新通道智庫聯(lián)盟”，揭牌成立“陸海新通道國際合作交流中心”，三所市內(nèi)高校與國外智庫分別簽署中外智庫友好合作協(xié)議，五個國際智庫和彭水自治縣共同簽署鄉(xiāng)村振興建設(shè)交流互鑒友好合作框架協(xié)議，一系列參觀考察和座談交流活動扎實推動論壇共識落實落地。

論壇期間，與會中外智庫專家圍繞國家和地區(qū)間的互聯(lián)互通、陸海聯(lián)動發(fā)展、新興產(chǎn)業(yè)合作和投資機遇等，提出了極具價值的建議和方案。

泰國暹羅智庫主席徐二明表示，重慶可以借鑒有關(guān)國家和中國國內(nèi)相關(guān)省市合作經(jīng)驗，與泰國簽訂具有地域特色的“迷你版”自由貿(mào)易協(xié)定，充分發(fā)揮重慶軟實力，做好金融和數(shù)據(jù)服務(wù)，提升倉儲物流服務(wù)水平，與泰國有關(guān)方面共同打造對華出口物流集散地。

塞爾維亞“一帶一路”研究中心理事會主席、塞爾維亞政府副秘書長達尼耶爾·尼科利奇提議，在塞爾維亞主辦、組織類似論壇活動，像重慶一樣當好東道主。

考察四川外國語大學區(qū)域國別研究院。

考察中國—東盟法律研究中心。

Wen Hao, Senior Economist and the Head of the Innovation and Development Center for BRI from the Financial Research Institute of China Development Bank proposed to establish an ILSTC international bank with Chongqing as the headquarter, introducing large-scale domestic financial institutions, Singapore and ASEAN financial institutions, and strategic investors.This bank could set up branches in the western provinces of China as well as countries and regions along the BRI, setting a joint ILSTC international investment fund to provide high-quality financial services for interconnected land-sea regional exchanges.

Huang Renwei, Executive Vice Director of the Fudan Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance,pointed out that, facing geopolitical barriers and geoeconomic competition, the China-Europe corridor should be strategically developed into three routes, including southern, northern, and central corridors.These corridors should be explored in multiple directions with the accelerated development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor,and the Balkan Corridor.He also expressed his hope for Chongqing to further open up its financial sector, serve as BRI’s financing center, and play a leading role in emerging technology.

Chinese and foreign guests spoke highly of the results achieved through this forum and looked forward to further strengthening the cooperation in the future.

國家開發(fā)銀行規(guī)劃研究院“一帶一路”創(chuàng)新中心辦公室處長、正高級經(jīng)濟師溫灝提出，可組建以重慶為總部的陸海新通道國際銀行，引入國內(nèi)大型金融機構(gòu)、新加坡及東盟地區(qū)的金融機構(gòu)、戰(zhàn)略投資人等，在中國西部省區(qū)以及沿線國家和地區(qū)設(shè)立分支機構(gòu)，并聯(lián)合設(shè)立陸海新通道國際投資基金，為陸海聯(lián)動區(qū)域互動提供高質(zhì)量的金融服務(wù)。

復旦大學“一帶一路”及全球治理研究院常務(wù)副院長黃仁偉就陸海通道面臨的地緣政治障礙和地緣經(jīng)濟競爭等提出，從戰(zhàn)略角度把中歐大通道建成南、北、中三條線，從不同的方向打通這條通道，加快建設(shè)中巴走廊、中蒙俄走廊、巴爾干走廊等，并希望重慶進一步擴大金融開放，打造“一帶一路”融資中心，持續(xù)在新興技術(shù)領(lǐng)域發(fā)揮龍頭作用。

論壇期間，中外嘉賓對論壇取得的成果給予高度評價，同時也對未來進一步加強合作充滿期待。

“Relying on ILSTC, China can utilize the China-Laos Railway and the China-Thailand Railway to boost economic development.Meanwhile, Thailand can also realize development, which is a great opportunity,”Xu Erming said, adding that Thailand has been seeking opportunities to export produce including fruits to China.Chongqing has now opened the door to regional cooperation.Thailand also participates in this actively with the hope that this door of opening up could be more significant and broader to facilitate in-depth cooperation in logistics and finance between the two places.

“The achievements as the leader of opening up in inland China are progressing with each passing day, and the interconnected land-sea development is advancing by leaps and bounds, showcasing Chongqing’s great verve,”said Professor Sun Junjian, Vice President of Henan University and Head of the Academy of International and Regional Studies.During his multiple visits to Chongqing, the positioning and gesture of Chongqing to develop ILSTC impressed him the most.He added that ILSTC connects land with rivers and seas, making Chongqing’s position as the hub of ILSTC more prominent.With the gathering of new development momentum of trade, logistics, and emerging industries, he hoped that Chongqing would continue to play a leading role and provide more efficient initiatives in actively engaging in the joint contribution of the BRI and achieving high-quality development.

“At present, ILSTC is facing some challenges,including legal and regulatory issues and ethnic and cultural differences.ILSTC Think Tank Association can carry out in-depth exchanges and researches on these challenges as a platform, providing intellectual support for the development of ILSTC through joint efforts,”said Dong Hongchuan,Secretary-General of ILSTC Think Tank Association and President of Sichuan International Studies University.He added that the secretariat of ILSTC Think Tank Association would fulfill its responsibilities of providing sound support.He called on the integration of think tanks from different countries to be connected with the world and realize winwin outcomes.

Source/Chongqing Daily

Photo/The Foreign Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal Government Translation/Feng Yugeng, Tao Yunying, and Chen Jiaqi

“依托西部陸海新通道，中國可以利用中老鐵路和中泰鐵路進一步刺激經(jīng)濟發(fā)展，同時，泰國也反向獲得發(fā)展，這是很好的機遇?！毙於鞅硎?，泰國一直在為農(nóng)產(chǎn)品、水果進入中國尋求途徑，重慶開放了區(qū)域合作的大門，泰國也積極加入，希望這扇門打開得更大一些、更寬一些，能夠推動兩地在物流、金融等方面更深入地合作。

“內(nèi)陸高地建設(shè)成就日新月異，陸海聯(lián)動發(fā)展突飛猛進，展現(xiàn)了重慶的大氣魄?！焙幽洗髮W副校長、區(qū)域與國別研究院院長、教授孫君健曾多次來渝，讓其印象最深刻的是，重慶打造了西部陸海新通道的站位和格局。他說，西部陸海新通道實現(xiàn)了通江達海，重慶在西部陸海新通道的中心樞紐地位愈發(fā)凸顯，正在匯聚貿(mào)易、物流和新興產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展新動能，希望重慶不斷發(fā)揮龍頭作用，在積極服務(wù)融入共建“一帶一路”、實現(xiàn)高質(zhì)量發(fā)展中，提供更多更高效的舉措方案。

“當前，西部陸海新通道面臨一些挑戰(zhàn)，如法律規(guī)章問題、民族文化差異等，智庫聯(lián)盟作為一個平臺，可就此開展深入交流研究，通過聯(lián)合攻關(guān)為陸海新通道進一步發(fā)展提供智力支持?！蔽鞑筷懞Ｐ峦ǖ乐菐炻?lián)盟秘書長、四川外國語大學校長董洪川表示，智庫聯(lián)盟秘書處將擔好職責，做好服務(wù)性工作，呼吁并力爭把不同國家的智庫整合起來形成合力，達到連接世界、合作共贏的效果。