![]() The second one would be the "more subtle benefit" of China's reform and opening-up experience that other countries could learn from, for example how to avoid pollution. The first benefit would be the projects themselves, which would provide the "desperately needed" infrastructure for an economy to grow and become integrated into the global economy. When asked how other countries can better benefit from China's wisdom and solutions, Kuhn said the countries would derive a dual benefit. "You have to start with a vision, but unless you appreciate all the challenges, the difficulties, it's going to have problems in the future," the expert said. The expert was especially impressed that China "is making a creative, proactive effort" with this initiative.Īs Kuhn was listening to Xi's speech, he was pondering the potential challenges the Belt and Road Initiative faces in its implementation, a topic he is particularly interested in exploring. But it needs to start with infrastructure." "He (Xi) showed that people who have differences in geography, race, religion, ethnicity, different views can work together for common development. He found the cooperation potential under the Belt and Road Initiative especially appealing. You can't develop an economy without a foundation of infrastructure," he said. ![]() "The Belt and Road starts at the foundation, and builds infrastructure, so it enables the host countries, the developing countries, some very poor countries, to be able to develop their own economies. "It is not foreign aid, which is good at times, but it is often not sustainable," he said. ![]() However, Kuhn stressed that the Belt and Road Initiative was not charity by any means. "This is a change of the Belt and Road from theory and preliminary ideas, from a blueprint to a roadmap, from ideas on paper to projects on the ground," he said, adding that Xi put the initiative in its historical context of East meets West on the Silk Road and showed how much the world needed the Belt and Road Initiative to combat poverty and extreme inequalities that breed instability. Kuhn called Xi's keynote speech at the opening of the forum on Sunday "a grand vision for the Belt and Road." He sat down with Xinhua on the sidelines of the forum to speak about this historic event. The forum was the fourth event on the Belt and Road Initiative Kuhn attended, and he has been following the initiative's progress closely since it was first proposed in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Kuhn, who has written and edited more than 25 books and is a much sought-after commentator on China, had some compelling things to say about the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes. (Xinhuanet/Wang Hanlin)īEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) - The two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation has just concluded, with some 1,500 guests from over 130 countries attending, among them Dr. expert on China issues, gives exclusive interview to Xinhuanet, in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2017.
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