Human civilization has come to a new crossroads. The concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have contributed Chinese wisdom to the progress of human civilization.

Forging a shared future

Building a community with a shared future for mankind is the right way to deal with profound changes unseen in a century. Whether seizing opportunities or addressing challenges, only by working together to build a community with a shared future for mankind can countries around the world effectively address global issues, safeguard humanity’s common homeland, and jointly build a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness, cleanliness, and beauty. This reflects human society’s common value pursuit.

Promoting common development

Since the BRI was proposed, important progress and achievements have been made in countries and regions along the BRI, and efforts have been made to build a community with a shared future for mankind. China has actively promoted the construction of trans-continental railways, international freight trains, ports and docks, and other transportation projects, effectively improving the infrastructure of countries and regions along the routes, and laying a solid foundation for building a community with a shared future for mankind. In terms of trade facilitation, in the face of the pandemic, we overcame difficulties together and worked hard to maintain the steady growth of trade between China and other countries and regions along the BRI routes.

We should work together to create a prosperous world. Jointly building the BRI provides a solution for working together to tackle global crises and achieve long-term development. The BRI is highly consistent with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The operation of the China-Europe Railway Express has opened up a new channel for Eurasian transportation, which not only unblocks the trade of goods between countries along the route, but also promotes a new business form of “China-Europe Railway Express Plus,” which promotes economic development, strengthens the ability to resist risks, and makes the China-Europe Railway Express a popular international public good.

We should also work together to create a healthy world. The COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. In particular, international cooperation in pandemic prevention and control needs to be strengthened. Based on the situation on-the-ground, China has taken active and effective prevention and control measures to take the lead in controlling the pandemic and strives to restore socioeconomic development. Meanwhile, the timely supply of vaccines, drugs and medical materials to countries in need of assistance effectively bridges the “gap in fighting the pandemic.”

Mutual benefits and connectivity create an open world. The pandemic has hindered the pace of global economic recovery, but BRI partners have helped each other and made positive progress in economic and trade cooperation.

Coordination and inclusiveness create a peaceful world. Development is the master key to solving all problems, and also the first priority of jointly building the BRI. BRI cooperation serves the development interests of all countries in the world. By giving full play to the resource endowments of countries along the BRI routes, we can complement each other’s strengths, release the development potential and vitality of participating countries, promote economic prosperity and regional economic cooperation of countries along the BRI routes, allow people to enjoy development dividends, and promote common global development.

Creating a better world

Jointly building the BRI is a concrete practice which promotes the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. It has received positive responses and universal participation from the international community and has generated an increasingly extensive international influence. Against the backdrop of the accelerating evolution of profound global changes unseen in a century, we should first of all continue to take the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind as our guide, take the joint construction of the BRI as an important practical path and starting point from which we can accelerate the formation of a mutual promotional relationship between the two, and make the concept of shared future take root and blossom via the joint construction of the BRI. We should work together to build a better world.

Shen Zhengping is a professor from Jiangsu Normal University.