Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the Fourth Belt and Road Construction Work Symposium in Beijing on February 2 and delivered an important speech, emphasizing that under the current severe and complex international environment, promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative presents both opportunities and challenges, but overall, opportunities outweigh challenges. We must maintain strategic confidence and resolve, take on responsibilities, and create a brighter future for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.

Cai Qi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Central Committee General Office, attended the symposium, and Ding Xuexiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, presided over the symposium.

At the symposium, Zheng Zhajie, director of the National Development and Reform Commission; Ma Zhaoxu, vice minister of foreign affairs; Yin Li, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC; Wang Menghui, secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the CPC; Hu Wangming, chairman of China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited; Feng Xubin, chairman of Yixin Europe Trade Service Group Co., Ltd.; and Xing Guangcheng, director of the Institute of China's Border Regions, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, delivered speeches, introducing their work, and putting forward opinions and suggestions.

After listening to everyone's speeches, Xi Jinping delivered an important speech. He pointed out that since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed in 2013, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and through the joint efforts of all parties, the Belt and Road Initiative has always adhered to the Silk Road spirit of peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual respect, and mutual benefit; has always adhered to the principle of joint consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits; has continuously expanded its cooperation areas, scope, and levels; and has continuously enhanced its international appeal, influence, and cohesion, achieving significant achievements and making Chinese contributions to enhancing friendship with participating countries and promoting their economic and social development.
Xi Jinping stressed that in recent years, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, with unilateralism and protectionism rising significantly and frequent local conflicts and unrest. Against this backdrop, promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative requires effectively addressing various risks and challenges, overcoming the impact of geopolitical conflicts, properly handling the relationship between enhancing the sense of gain of participating countries and maintaining benefits for China, and effectively safeguarding China's overseas interests.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the Belt and Road Initiative has entered a new stage of high-quality development. We must adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability, fully and accurately implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, uphold the banner of a community with a shared future for mankind, adhere to the guiding principles of joint consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits; openness, green development, and integrity; high standards, people's livelihood, and sustainability; be guided by the eight actions for high-quality Belt and Road construction; take interconnection as the main line; combine high-quality development with high-level security; combine government guidance with market operation; combine scientific layout with dynamic optimization; and combine quantitative growth with qualitative improvement. We should comprehensively deepen "hard connectivity" in infrastructure, "soft connectivity" in rules and standards, and "connectivity of hearts" with the people of participating countries; comprehensively promote the construction of major landmark projects and "small but beautiful" livelihood projects; comprehensively consolidate cooperation in traditional fields and steadily expand cooperation in emerging fields; improve the mechanism for promoting high-quality Belt and Road construction; and continuously expand new space for win-win development that is of higher quality, more resilient, and more sustainable.

Xi Jinping stressed the need to focus on promoting the construction of mechanisms for high-quality Belt and Road Initiative, improve the mechanism for coordinating and managing the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation plan, improve the coordination mechanism for "hard connectivity," "soft connectivity," and "connectivity of hearts," improve the pragmatic cooperation mechanism for industrial and supply chains, improve the international exchange and cooperation mechanism in emerging fields, improve the diversified financing and investment guarantee mechanism, improve the risk prevention and control mechanism for internal and external coordination, improve the overseas interest protection mechanism, improve the high-level international communication mechanism, improve the clean Silk Road cooperation mechanism, and promote the steady and far-reaching progress of high-quality Belt and Road construction.

Xi Jinping pointed out that we must adhere to a consistent plan and work continuously, bravely overcome various risks and challenges, and unswervingly promote high-quality Belt and Road construction to make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Ding Xuexiang, presiding over the meeting, said that General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech fully affirmed the significant achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative and made comprehensive arrangements for promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative in the current period and for some time to come. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech is far-sighted, profound in thought, insightful in argument, and rich in connotation. It provides important guidance and direction for promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative in the next golden decade. We must earnestly study and understand it and resolutely implement it. All regions, departments, and units should continuously strengthen strategic thinking, security awareness, systematic concepts, and international perspectives, focus on promoting systematic and institutional mechanisms, continuously improve top-level design, formulate pragmatic measures, deepen external cooperation, and strive to cultivate a number of well-known and influential cooperative brands to achieve more demonstrative and leading major achievements, jointly creating a new space for win-win development of the Belt and Road Initiative that is of higher quality, more resilient, and more sustainable.

Wang Yi, He Lifeng, and Wu Zhenglong attended the symposium.

Members of the Leading Group for the Advancement of Belt and Road Construction, relevant departments of the central and state organs, the main responsible comrades of the leading groups for the advancement of Belt and Road construction in various provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, relevant enterprise leaders, and representatives of experts and scholars attended the symposium.