China's neighbors are the first to benefit from Belt and Road Initiative

A sound and stable neighborhood is an important underpinning for China's peaceful development. Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that "China’s neighbors are the main partners in the Belt and Road Initiative and they will be the first to benefit from it." This has been proven by the practice over the past years.

The spirit of the Belt and Road Initiative coincides with the concept of building a community of common destiny with China's neighboring countries.

Building of the initiative meets the developmental demands of China's neighboring countries. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has become a new growth point for the local economy, creating large numbers of new jobs. It is estimated more than 60 percent of the Pakistani people will benefit from the initiative in some concrete way.

The initiative helps to build a human community of shared destiny in the region by creating synergy with various countries' specific development strategies and plans. China has positively promoted policy coordination with its neighbors and infrastructure connectivity. So far, it has opened 356 international transport routes running through 73  ports.

China's trade with countries and regions along the Belt and Road routes totaled US$953.59 billion in 2016, accounting for 25.7 percent of its total trade volume. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved loans of around US$1.7 billion. China Development Bank had issued loans of US$110 billion to countries along the Belt and Road by the end of 2016 and the Silk Road Fund has invested more than US$4 billion.

The initiative is also deepening mutual understanding between China and its neighbors and promoting people-to-people exchanges.

(The author Zheng Shixi is an observer on international issue. This is an excerpt from his article which was first published in Chinese. The translator is Li Yang. )