PRESS RELEASE

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China Presents Agenda and Goals for May 14-15 Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation

March 12, 2017 (EIRNS)—On March 8, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave a press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, to lay out the perspective for the upcoming Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) "on the occasion of the 100 day countdown" to that event. Wang said that

"More than 20 heads of state, over 50 leaders of international organizations, over 100 ministerial-level officials, as well as over 1,200 delegations from various countries and regions will participate in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May in Beijing."

He said that the idea of the Belt and Road came from China, "but it belongs to the world, with its benefits flowing to all countries.... It has become the common cause of the world."

The forum is designed to

"build consensus and connect development strategies of various countries; ... finalize major projects in infrastructure connectivity, trade and investment, financial support and people-to-people exchanges;"

as well as discuss "medium and long term cooperation initiatives" looking to the future.

Two days later, on March 10, China launched a webpage for the BRF event Media Center—which so far features Xi Jinping’s Jan. 17, 2017 speech at Davos, and a new, lengthy interview given to People’s Daily and China Daily by State Councilor Yang Jiechi. Yang is in charge of the preparatory work for the conference, and in that interview, published under the headline "Building the Belt and Road for Win-Win Development," he elaborated on the plans for the conference in some detail.