What Vladimir Putin said in China at the opening of the “One Belt, One Road” forum

In Beijing, the Third International Forum “One Belt, One Road” took place at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a welcoming speech to the heads of delegations, participants in the initiative, and guests of the forum, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. He stated that humanity as a single whole unites the destinies of all people, and that when everything is good in the world, then it is good in China, and when everything is good in China, then the world is even better. According to him, rapidly developing countries should help those who are lagging behind them; they need to support each other, help and respect.

Immediately after Xi Jinping, Putin addressed the forum participants. According to him, the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, put forward by the President of the People’s Republic of China, is future-oriented and “aimed at creating a more equitable multipolar world.” Russia and China, like most states, share the desire for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation for the purposes of progress and social well-being “with respect for civilizational diversity and the right of each state to its own development model,” Putin said. According to him, it is the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which is built on such principles, that makes it possible to create an “integration circuit” that ensures freedom of trade, investment, labor and interconnected infrastructure.

Putin said that the initiative of the PRC leader is consonant with the initiative put forward by Russia to form a large Eurasian partnership, where various integration initiatives can be combined – “One Belt, One Road”, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Eurasian Economic Union.

The president went on to say what Russia is doing to create an interconnected infrastructure, given that it is the largest country in the world in terms of its territory, and accordingly, the connection of countries through it plays a big role. Among such projects, Putin named the formation of the North-South corridor, which connects Russian ports in the Baltic and Arctic with ports on the coast of the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Another route from north to south will pass through Siberia, for which the central section of the Trans-Siberian Railway is being modernized.

Putin also spoke about the construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway – a railway line with access to the port of the Arctic Ocean and the Yamal Peninsula and a new North Siberian railway from Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug to a connection with the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Baikal-Amur Mainline. Russia is also working with foreign partners to build railway routes from Central Siberia towards China, Mongolia, and ports of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Another corridor is planned from the Arctic to the South in the Far East – this is a railway line from the BAM to Yakutia, bridges across the Lena and Amur rivers, the Pacific Railway, the modernization of highways, the creation of deep-water terminals on the eastern section of the Northern Sea Route. Putin said that all these routes open up the opportunity to connect, integrate Northern Sea Route with large logistics hubs in southern Eurasia.

The President of Russia also said that Russia invites interested states to participate in the development of the Northern Sea Route, including Russia is ready to ensure the passage of ships through the ice: “Starting next year, navigation for ice-class cargo ships along the entire length of the Northern Sea Route will become year-round.” The creation of all these logistics routes reflects changes in the global economy and the role of new development centers and the Asia-Pacific region, the global south, Putin said. According to him, since Russia will chair BRICS in 2024, it proposed, within the framework of the association, to create a commission on transport logistics with the participation of members of the organization and other countries that are interested in the project.

Concluding his speech, Putin wished China success in implementing plans for the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

After the opening ceremony of the forum, Russian-Chinese negotiations also took place in Beijing. Only the welcoming speech of the two leaders was available to journalists. Negotiations are planned first in an expanded format, then in a narrow format, and after that Putin and Xi will talk face to face.

Xi thanked Putin for coming to the Belt and Road Forum for the third time. He recalled his visit to Moscow in March 2023 and emphasized that he and Putin had good relations and personal friendship. As for the economy, Xi said that by the end of the year, China and Russia should reach the level of trade turnover of $200 billion, which was planned for the current year.

Putin congratulated Xi on the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and said that next year will be an anniversary year for the country, as well as for the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. The USSR was the first to recognize the new China, Putin said. He also recalled Xi’s visit to Russia this spring, noting that the visit highlighted the special relationship between the two countries, as Russia became the first country Xi paid a state visit to after his re-election as China’s chairman. Putin also remembered his previous visit to Beijing – he came to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on February 4, 2022. According to Putin, the leader of any country strives for the initiatives put forward by him to be implemented, but does not know what will happen in the end. But China is doing well, Putin believes, referring to the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

The Belt and Road Forum will be held in China for the third time in 2023. The forum is attended by countries that have joined the Chinese initiative of the same name. The first “One Belt – One Road” forum took place on May 14-15, 2017 in Beijing, the second – there on April 25-27, 2019. The very concept of “One Belt – One Road” was presented by Xi Jinping in 2013, Its goal was the creation of transit and transport infrastructure between China, the countries of Eurasia and Africa, and later the countries of South America began to participate in the initiative. In total, as of August 2023, 155 countries were affected by the initiative in one way or another. Moscow is not directly involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, but supports it. Heads of more than 20 countries arrived at the current forum. Putin arrived in Beijing on October 17. On this day, he held a series of bilateral meetings. After the Russian-Chinese negotiations on October 18, Putin plans to give a press conference.