Building the Belt and Road Initiative is in line with the historical trend of economic globalization, the requirements of the global governance system reform, and the strong desire of people in various countries to live a better life. This is the fundamental reason why it has maintained strong resilience and vitality. Currently, 151 countries and 32 international organizations have signed over 200 Belt and Road cooperation agreements with China. On January 10th, the World Bank released its latest Global Economic Prospects report, lowering its forecast for global economic growth in 2023 to 1.7%, down 1.3 percentage points from its forecast in June of last year. Against the backdrop of economic globalization encountering headwinds and the world economy languishing in low growth, the role of the Belt and Road Initiative in promoting economic growth in relevant countries and regions and advancing global development has become even more important. According to a 2019 research report by the World Bank, if all the transportation infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road framework are implemented, they have the potential to generate $1.6 trillion in annual benefits for the world by 2030, accounting for 1.3% of global GDP. In the future, it is a trend for more countries to work together to build the Belt and Road Initiative with high quality.

        According to data, from 2013 to 2021, the cumulative volume of goods traded between China and countries along the Belt and Road exceeded $11 trillion, and bilateral investment exceeded $230 billion. The joint construction of the Belt and Road has promoted connectivity of facilities. "Happy roads", "heart-linking bridges", and "prosperous ports" have become accelerators to narrow the development gap and engines to promote common prosperity, making new contributions to improving the well-being of people in various countries. The high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road conforms to the development trend of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, seizes the opportunities of digitalization, networking, and intelligent development, explores new growth momentum and development paths, and builds the digital and innovation silk roads, injecting new vitality into the ancient silk road. Martin Albrow, a British sociologist and one of the pioneers of the concept of globalization, pointed out that the Belt and Road connects China's peaceful development with the prosperity and happiness of the whole world.

       As an important public good provided by China to improve global governance, high-quality Belt and Road cooperation inherits and innovates, takes proactive actions, emphasizes seeking common ground while reserving differences, and promotes incremental reforms of the existing international order and rules. The core ideas of the Belt and Road Initiative and its principles of joint consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits have been incorporated into documents of the United Nations, the G20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and other regional organizations, becoming an important consensus on global governance. The establishment of multilateral development institutions and cooperation platforms such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund has promoted the development of the global governance system towards a more just and reasonable direction. Tan Zheli, a senior researcher at the Mumbenge African Leadership Institute at the University of South Africa, stated that the Belt and Road Initiative has made an important contribution to improving global governance.

        From taking root to sustainable development, the circle of friends of the Belt and Road Initiative is growing bigger, with more good partners and higher quality cooperation, and better development prospects. This year, China will consider holding the Third Belt and Road International Cooperation Forum, injecting new impetus into global development and prosperity. Standing at a new starting point, China will continue to build a road of peace, prosperity, openness, green development, innovation, and civilization with all parties, making the Belt and Road Initiative a project of the century that benefits the people of all countries.