BY IBRAHIM JOENAL SESAY
232NEWS, FREETOWN
The 4th session of Face to Face with China was held on Tuesday 17th October 2023, at the Atlantic Lumley Hotel in Freetown introducing the belt and road initiative as it marks its 10th anniversary.
Giving a brief background about the Belt and Road Initiative, Ge Yao, Acting Political Director of the Chinese Embassy said the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), known within China as the One Belt One Road is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations. It is considered as a centerpiece of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping‘s foreign policy. The BRI forms a central component of Xi’s “Major Country Diplomacy” strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role for global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status.
Presentation on: Introducing the China-Africa leaders dialogue, “A Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions” and the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for international cooperation were addressed by a team from the Embassy in Freetown.
In his keynote statement Li Xiaoying, Charge d’affaires a.i. of the Chinese Embassy said China stands ready to work with other countries including Sierra Leone to pursue closer and more fruitful cooperation under the BRI framework, and that they are committed to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. Our goals are to pass on the torch of peace from generation to generation, sustain development, ensure that civilizations flourish, and build a global community of shared future, he assured.
He maintained that BRI is a path to peace. Peace is a prerequisite for development, while development serves as the foundation for peace. The BRI goes beyond the law of the jungle and the hegemonic order based on power struggles. It rejects zero-sum thinking and discards the Cold War mentality of ideological rivalry and geopolitical competition. Instead, it paves the way for peaceful development, and aims to offer a fundamental approach to lasting peace and universal security. Under the BRI, nations respect each other’s sovereignty, dignity, territorial integrity, development path, social system, core interests, and major concerns.
That as the initiator of the BRI, China passionately campaigns for the establishment of a new model of international relations characterized by mutual respect, equity, justice, and a win-win cooperation. It is committed to building partnerships based on dialogue rather than confrontation, and friendship rather than alliance, and to fostering a new vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. These efforts help to create a peaceful and stable development environment.
He added that, BRI is a path to prosperity. The BRI is committed to building a prosperous future that diverges from the exploitative colonialism of the past, avoids coercive and one-sided transactions, rejects the center-periphery model of dependency, and refuses to displace crisis onto others or exploit neighbors for self-interest. Instead, it aims to achieve win-win outcomes and shared development and prosperity. Under the BRI, all parties will prioritize development as the common goal, leveraging their respective resources and potential advantages, igniting their own growth engines, growing their capacity for independent development, and collectively creating more opportunities and space for development. This collaborative effort aims to foster new centers and impetus for global economic growth, drive inclusive growth, and bring global development into a balanced, coordinated and inclusive new stage.
He further stated that, BRI is a path to openness. The BRI represents an open and inclusive collaborative process that transcends national borders, ideological differences, developmental disparities, social system variations, and geopolitical conflicts. It is not aimed at designing a new international system, but rather supplementing and improving the existing mechanisms. All parties involved uphold the core values and fundamental principles of the multilateral trading system. Together, participants will establish an open and cooperative platform, safeguard and promote an open global economy, create an environment conducive to open development, construct a fair, equitable and transparent system of international trade and investment rules, and advance cooperation based on win-win outcomes, shared responsibility and collective participation. The BRI facilitates the orderly flow of production factors, the efficient allocation of resources, deep integration of markets, and liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and ensures the stable performance and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains. It aims to build an economic globalization that is open, inclusive, balanced, and beneficial to all.
Emmanuel Billy Konjoh, Chief Director Ministry of Trade and Industry stated that presently China stands as Sierra Leone’s largest importer and exporter. He described the Belt and Road Initiative as a win-win result for all.
