国内英语资讯:(BRF) Feature: In Schwabs eyes, BRI growing into mature initiative_时事

国内英语资讯:(BRF) Feature: In Schwabs eyes, BRI growing into mature initiative

There was a huge infrastructure demand in Asia and Europe, and it was a good thing for China to play a leading role in building infrastructure in the region, he noted.

Partly thanks to the fact that it met the development needs of many countries, the BRI continued with rapid progress, promoting common development in participating countries and bringing Asia and Europe ever closer.

On May 13, 2017, the 1,000th China-Europe freight train that year departed from China's eastern city of Yiwu to Europe, fully loaded with commodities like smallware and clothes.

The next day, Schwab reaffirmed his full support for the BRI in an address at the first BRF. Not hiding his enthusiasm about the BRI, he said the initiative "takes a long-term and holistic view, and makes a unique contribution to international cooperation and economic development."

He pointed out that connectivity, a primary focus of the BRI, "is the new meta-pattern of our era and a key driver of our future economy."

Citing a Chinese saying that "if you want to get rich, build a road," he said, "I would update this to say: 'If you seek prosperity, build connectivity.'"

One month later, in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the 2017 Summer Davos Forum, also held in Dalian, Schwab pointed to the BRI's paradigm-shifting significance.

"The Belt and Road Initiative has great significance because it is a new approach to reach a new and open cooperation ... and everybody can participate in a win-win situation as an equal partner," he said.