The Belt and Road Initiative Is Conducive to Global Green Recovery

By Lily Wang

On May 30， the IFF （In- ternational financial forum） 2021 spring meeting released the IFF 2021 China report. In the report， according to the 4th annual survey targeting central banks of countries along the Belt and Road region， 87% central banks said the Belt and Road projects are conducive to the economic recovery of the post-epidemic era， and 75% central banks said these projects will help achieve green recovery and sustainable development.

Expect Belt and Road Initiative to promote economic development

It is said that the report focuses on five themes， including “comprehensive sustainable development： momentum and barrier of global economic growth in post-epidemic era”， Belt and Road Initiative， “green finance”， “global capital market” and“financial technology”.

The survey report shows that the city lockdown and social distancing policies have exerted temporary impacts on certain major projects. However， China has not reduced the support towards Belt and Road projects under the background of pandemic. Most central banks hope that the Belt and Road Initiative will boost GDP growth in the next five years.

The report also shows that there is a wide space for cooperation in environmental standards， green energy and transportation. Regarding the promotion of green recovery under the Belt and Road framework， the central banks believe that the investment in green energy and transportation （90%） and cooperation in formulating Belt and Road project standards are the most important methods.

The report points out that during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic， world countries shall work faster to fulfill their commitments towards the environment. The investment in low-carbon society and healthy natural system is the only way to ensure the long-term profitability of the financial industry.

The report said that there is huge space for cooperation in all the above areas. Only the world cooperation can make the world economy recover rapidly and consistently from the pandemic.

Rising importance of Belt and Road International cooperation

Edmund Ho Hau-wah， Deputy Chairman of CPPCC and Chairman of （SRIA） Silk Road International Association， said that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented impact on the global economic and social development， but also highlighted the importance of international cooperation under the framework of Belt and Road. The green recovery is a key driving force of the high-quality economic development in the post-pandemic era. The greenness also represents the color of Belt and Road constructions. It is expected to see the green infrastructure and finance to promote the development of countries along the Belt and Road region， and enhance cooperation in ecological environment， biodiversity protection and coping with the climate change.

Han Seung-soo， Co-chairman of IFF & SRIA， President of the 56th UN General Assembly and former Prime Minister of South Korea， said that the silk road is a good example of cooperation. Green growth shall not only cover the silk road regions， but also play a key role in promoting the green development of China and the world. The Silk Road countries should seize the opportunity of the digitization， work more closely in fighting the pandemic and make contributions to green development and better global public health.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo， Director of IFF， Former President of the Philippines and Co-chairman of SRIA， said that the financial market needs more green innovation products. “We need to reconsider the focus of Belt and Road Initiative， and build a green， digital and healthy belt and road.”

Jenny Shipley， Director of IFF， former prime minister of New Zealand and co chairman of SRIA， said that if we want to make real changes， it is important to let all stakeholders get involved， including the government， private business， regional stakeholders and multilateral mechanism. “The green Belt and Road is an important plan for the future and one of the most important strategic decisions in the past decade. It will help achieve cooperation of all countries and let us see the new hope.”

Kairat Kelimbetov， President of AIFC （Astana International Financial Centre） and former Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan， said that Kazakhstan is an important partner of the Belt and Road Initiative and now it has more than 50 projects related to Belt and Road. “Because of our geographical advantage， we have positioned Kazakhstan to be the financing center of Belt and Road Initiative. The purpose is to become a nexus for the green investment of Euroasia to support the Belt and Road Initiative.”

Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi， IFF Deputy Director-General and Former Governor of UAE Central Bank， said， “in todays increasingly globalized world， green financing will have an important impact on us. We must constantly increase international cooperation in order to strengthen international supervision. Otherwise， the supervision measures taken only in one region can not effectively deal with the problems in the financial market.”

Alessandro Teixeira， IFF director， former Minister of Brazilian Ministry of Development， Industry and Foreign Trade and former chairman of World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies， said that it is important to enhance international cooperation not just in talks， but also in real actions. “I think the Belt and Road Initiative is a great platform for achieving international cooperation， as it has Chinas strong leadership. We need to integrate new technologies with the green development. Only this can save our earth.”

Liang Ziqian， First Deputy Director of CAREC Institute， said that the green financing can play an important role in green development， help reduce investment in wrong industries， promote the realization of sustainable development goals and the Paris Agreement， and make green finance more effective. All countries need to work together to formulate unified standards， mitigate potential risks and reduce the overall costs.

At the press conference， the IFF and CAREC Institute signed a strategic cooperation agreement， aiming to speed up the infrastructure construction in the fields of energy conservation， low carbon and environmental protection in Central Asia. Both parties will work together to find more ways of green cooperation， and improve the level of regional economy and connectivity cooperation.