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<html><body><div>Wu Jianghao is China's ambassador to Japan.This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of China's Belt and Road Initiative.Following the global financial crisis, China announced this infrastructure development program with the aim of protecting the world's free and open economic and trade systems, promoting effective links between resources and markets and facilitating more diversified, high-quality mutual cooperation between China and other countries.Over the past decade as the new cooperative platform has been widely welcomed, the initiative has borne a great deal of fruit under the philosophy of win-win cooperation and has become the popular public good of the world.China has so far signed more than 200 agreements for joint construction work with 152 countries and 32 international organizations and launched over 3,000 cooperative projects.China has taken the initiative to set up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund to provide loans and investment funds and to promote effective cooperation with the World Bank and other institutions.Trade in goods between China and countries along the BRI route has doubled since 2013, reaching $2.07 trillion last year. Two-way investment has exceeded $270 billion and created more than 400,000 jobs.Many countries along the BRI route now have favorable economic outlooks due to their improved infrastructure. The rail line that opened between China and Laos in 2021 has helped transform the latter from a landlocked country to "land linked" country.<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Indonesia-set-to-open-Southeast-Asia-s-1st-high-speed-rail-in-October">Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway</a> is set to open next month between Jakarta and Bandung. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, meanwhile, is providing one-third of Pakistan's electricity. In the Maldives, the BRI produced the first cross-sea bridge to help tie together a nation of islands. In Greece, Piraeus has developed into the biggest integrated port on the Mediterranean Sea.BRI participants have logged a 4.1% increase in trade and a 5% rise in capital inflows, according to the World Bank. Low-income countries have seen a 3.4% improvement in their gross domestic product. By 2030, the BRI will generate $1.6 trillion in global revenue a year and have helped pull nearly 40 million people out of poverty. 
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 A high-speed train car arrives in Jakarta in 2022: The new high-speed railway to Bandung will be the first high-speed train line in Southeast Asia. 



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Despite the beneficial results that the BRI has produced, some observers with little knowledge or with biased views have described the initiative as China's "geopolitical tool," a "debt trap" or the "export of its development model."Such views must be corrected. The BRI in fact adheres to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contributions and shared benefits.Through extensive consultation, each country's interests and concerns are taken into consideration and their wisdom gathered. Joint contribution envisions making use of each participant's strengths and potential capacity. With shared benefits, mutual advantages and win-win relations are delivered to all participants.The BRI is not a tool for geopolitical games but a platform for economic cooperation. Over the past decade, China has not sought the creation of a sphere of influence through BRI cooperation. It has welcomed participation by all countries, including developed nations, without setting any political conditions or prodding participants to take sides.In essence, China is different from certain countries that poke their nose into other countries' domestic policies and diplomatic relations under the banner of economic cooperation or seek to increase their strategic gains through military alliance and military intervention.The BRI is not aimed at exporting a model but the sharing of the best practical experiences.Although China proposed the initiative, decisions on how to participate are fully left to each country's free choice. China has never suggested that there is only one model of development for the world and stresses that each country should choose an appropriate approach to development based on its own situation.China hopes to expand the global "pie" by sharing development experiences with other countries but has never enforced its ideology, social system or development model on others.There are no debt traps with the BRI. While World Bank figures show that low- and middle-income nations have $940 billion in principal and interest payments to make over the coming seven years, repayments to Western commercial lenders and multinational organizations account for two-thirds of that sum. Repayments to China and the country's commercial lenders represent just 14% of the total.In the case of Sri Lanka, only 10% of its external debt is to China. A Chinese company has leased Hambantota port under a mutually beneficial, win-win agreement reached through friendly negotiations and based on the principles of equality and free will. The agreement is aimed at developing the port into an Indian Ocean hub for logistics, maritime traffic and industry by taking advantage of each partner's strengths.This bilateral cooperation is making steady progress. The Sri Lankan government has repeatedly said China is supporting its efforts to pursue development and improve the livelihood of people and has rejected the label of "debt trap" as absolutely groundless and fabricated.The world economy is currently faced with many challenges. It does no good but only harm to provoke confrontation between blocs by spreading the concepts of "decoupling and supply chain disruption."The world stands at the crossroads of confrontation or cooperation and of zero-sum or win-win development. At a time like this, the BRI's philosophy of win-win cooperation stands out as a cause that should be strongly embraced by the international community.China next month will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to further reinforce ties between participating countries and promote their development strategies and regional cooperation initiatives. We would welcome the participation of Japanese friends at the forum.China will strive to promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. It will also accelerate the development of infrastructure and logistics routes to ensure the stability and smoothness of regional industrial supply chains. China hopes to achieve high-quality development through the BRI together with other countries and to build this "road" as wide and long as possible.
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