Innovation and the yuan leave China

China stated that in the next 10 years of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it will focus on smaller-scale and innovation-oriented projects as well as large-scale infrastructure investments, and will prioritize increasing the use of the national currency, the yuan, in financing investments.

The Chinese government’s Leadership Group on the issue announced the vision and action plan for the development of the “Belt and Road Initiative” in the next 10 years.

The plan states that China will continue to contribute to the development of global free trade with connectivity projects in the next 10 years, and that it will expand its areas of cooperation with innovation-oriented projects in the fields of digital economy, green development and health. . , as well as transportation and infrastructure, in the new period.

YUAN-BASED FINANCING

The plan stated that the use of China’s national currency, the yuan, would be prioritized in project investments, and that the use of yuan-based financial instruments would be increased.

The plan reiterates the goals expressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the 8-point action plan announced at the Third Belt and Road Forum held in the capital Beijing in October, and states that the “Belt and Road ” will become an important “international cooperation.” platform” in the next 10 years. and it was emphasized that it will continue to be a “global public good.”

In the plan, improving policy coordination, infrastructure connections, barrier-free trade, financial integration, people-to-people ties and cooperation in new areas between participating countries were identified as “key areas of action.”

TRADE VOLUME EXCEEDED 19 BILLION DOLLARS

According to the report published by the Chinese State Council on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the “Belt and Road”, the trade volume between China and the countries participating in the initiative reached 19.1 trillion dollars with an average annual increase of 6.4 percent between 2013 and 2022. .

During the mentioned period, bilateral investments amounted to 380 billion dollars, of which 240 billion dollars were made by China.

The Belt and Road Initiative was first announced during President Xi’s visit to Kazakhstan in 2013. More than 150 countries and international organizations participated in the project, which was launched with the aim of revitalizing East-West trade in the historic Silk Road, in 10 years.

Infrastructure, energy, transportation, communications and other connectivity projects carried out in a geography that covers two-thirds of the world’s population had become the basis of China’s global strategy as a rising power.