The “B&R” initiative was promoted at the Lord Mayor’s show in London in November 2017. In late March 2018, the City of London’s Green Finance Initiative announced the creation of a new UK-China Green Finance Centre, which serves as a knowledge hub for “B&R” investors, issuers and advisors. (CHEN SHU/OUSHINET.COM)

At a time when the world needs to transition to sustainable development, China’s “Belt and Road” (“B&R”) initiative has facilitated green development and contributed to global governance, said experts at a conference co-sponsored by Renmin University of China (RUC) and the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) in Beijing on March 24.

The old global economic model and market incentive mechanism have increased wealth inequality and environmental degradation. Today’s air pollution, water pollution, global warming, ocean acidification and the rapid decline of biodiversity all indicate that the current development path is insecure. All nations urgently need to work together to ensure green development, said Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

WUN Executive Director John Hearn said that the past five years have seen some examples of efforts aimed at promoting human development and well-being, such as the “B&R” initiative, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris climate agreement.

Green development and the “B&R” initiative are core topics for all countries that are concerned about the future of development and governance, said Hisham El-Zimaity, former assistant foreign minister for international organizations and multilateral diplomacy of Egypt and non-resident senior research fellow at RUC’s Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies. There are certain prerequisites for their success, which is to say countries along the route must be committed to accelerating economic growth and eliminating poverty. A sound trading environment and a fair, transparent system of the orderly flow of production factors, effective allocation of resources and market integration, and the development of economic and trade cooperation projects that are conducive to environmental protection.

In the cutting-edge areas of digital economy, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and quantum computing, people should further facilitate big data, cloud computing and smart cities, and build a digital Silk Road for the 21st century, achieving green development through the interconnection of digital technologies, El-Zimaity added.

In terms of global green development, China has mechanisms and the ability to play an important role. Sachs said he admires China’s capicity for long-term planning. China has made it clear in recent years that sustainable development will be one of the priorities of its long-term development. This is important to both China and the world, since China is an important economy in the world. It is the biggest trading economy and will become the world’s most important economy in the future. China’s model of economic growth will not only affect its own people but also the world’s population, he said.

China is also an important promoter of the global governance mechanism. “B&R” can support the 21 century transformations to low-carbon energy, sustainable agriculture and smart cities in a peaceful, respectful and cooperative manner. All should support and inspire a sustainable development model on a global scale, ensuring the success of the “B&R” initiative, Sachs said. “I whole-heartedly praise and admire China for leading this great initiative and I believe all countries should subscribe to it.”

Danilo Türk, former president of the Republic of Slovenia and non-resident senior fellow at RUC’s Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said that the “B&R” initiative has inspired new ideas for global development, able to attract more partners to jointly carry out global and transformative projects.

China prioritizes infrastructure construction, invests in technology and human resources, and focuses on sustainable green development. El-Zimaity said African countries appreciate China and particularly welcome China’s overtures on green finance proposed in the “B&R” initiative, which involves the participation of a number of export-import banks.

The initiative plays a significant role in promoting global development. With the concept of green and inclusive development, it focuses on poverty alleviation and proposes a new concept of governance that allows all people to benefit. Under the principle of mutual benefit and cooperation, it enables a win-win relationship between partners, and can truly facilitate global prosperity and development in the future, he said.