Belt and Road Initiative: A Bridge Connecting the Chinese Dream and the World Dream

Over 2,000 years ago, the Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road connected Asia, Europe, and Africa, fostering cooperation between the East and West, advancing trade, civilization, global prosperity and human progress in general. In 2013, CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the concept of building “a community of shared future for mankind” and rolled out the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI). This initiative is rooted in the ancient Silk Road, but it is imbued with a contemporary spirit. It serves as a practical platform for the construction of a community of shared future for mankind, enriches global governance, and brings certainty and stability for the planet.

Marx and Engels highlighted in the Communist Manifesto that the emergence of the world market brought an end to the self-sufficiency of regions, nations and local communities. The level of interaction and interdependence among peoples, countries, and regions has therefore deepened, transforming the human history into a global history. The Marxist theory of world history foresaw the inevitable shift from regional, national history to a world history marked by international interaction. It also lays the theoretical groundwork for the BRI.

As economic globalization advances, nations have become more interdependent, eventually forming a global community. In the face of frequent global challenges and the evolving landscape of world affairs, BRI emerged as a practical response, offering practical guidance to the construction of a community of shared future for mankind.

In the last decade, BRI has evolved from a concept into tangible reality, becoming a recurring topic in resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the BRICS, and various other multilateral mechanisms. It has also transformed into an international public good and a platform for cooperation. By linking policy, infrastructure, trade and capital, and fostering people-to-people connections, BRI has not only contributed to China’s high-quality development but also yielded substantial benefits for the nations involved.

Through enhanced collaboration, BRI is tapping new potentials and exploiting new possibilities for world economic progress. Amidst the trend of de-globalization and increasing wealth disparities, China is proactively contributing to global development with the Chinese prescription of building a community of shared future for mankind.

Author: Dong Hao, lecturer at the School of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Duan Hongmei, research fellow at the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce.