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Blue Book of The “Belt and Road”：Annual Report on Development of The “Belt and Road” Construction （2021）consists of five parts：General Report，Sub-reports，International Cooperation，Domestic Regions，and Monographic Studies.

General Report points out that the “Belt and Road” Initiative （BRI） has made headway through concerted efforts while the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic affected the world on all fronts. The hard-won positive progress demonstrates the strong resilience and vigorous vitality of this initiative. China has taken the lead in combating the epidemic and realized the resumption of work and production in full scale. This not only contributes hugely to the stability of global industrial chain，supply chain and value chain，but also significantly bolsters the confidence and determination of countries jointly involved in this initiative. Looking forward to the future，we will stick to open，green and clean approaches under the principles of extensive consultation，joint contribution and shared benefits. We will seize and use the important period of strategic opportunity for China’s development while guarding against and resolving major risks. We will spare no effort to advance green，healthy and digital Silk Road as a solid step to promote high-quality BRI development.

Sub-reports analyze the current cooperation between China and BRI countries in the fields of trade，investment，production capacity and technology. In terms of trade cooperation，the global trade volume and scale have shrunk for two consecutive years due to geopolitical shocks amid the epidemic. In this context，China’s trade cooperation with BRI countries has rendered a remarkable result of growth against the trend. In terms of investment cooperation，China has pushed forward interconnectivity partnerships with relevant countries by continuing to deepen practical cooperation under the principles of extensive consultation，joint contribution and shared benefits. A variety of projects have proceeded solidly and yielded a series of pioneering and leading results，which injects an important impetus to the recovery and development of the world economy and the improvement of people’s livelihoods in the BRI countries. In terms of technological cooperation，technological innovation is the primary driving force of high-quality economic development，and cooperation in this respect is conducive to accelerating the BRI transition towards high-quality development under the new situation. In addition，tasks of particular importance for China to create a dual-circulation development pattern are embodied in high-quality “Belt and Road” construction，including opening up new international markets，facilitating BRI South-South cooperation，boosting technological innovation and digital trade development and building a network of free trade areas. Therefore，high-quality development enables the BRI initiative to better play the role of international platform in creating a new development pattern featuring dual circulations.

The part of International Cooperation probes into cooperation between China and other countries and regions under the BRI framework，including Southeast Asia，Northeast Asia，Europe，Africa，Latin America and Central Asia. China’s cooperation with ASEAN and its member states has bucked the trend. Both sides have reaped notable results in political mutual trust，economic and trade exchanges and cooperation in combating the epidemic. The space for China-EU cooperation has been expanded as BRI has received positive responses from most European countries in the past seven years. The China-Europe Railway Express has played a unique role in the communication between the two sides and the cargo transportation of countries along the route. China and African countries are moving faster to implement the outcomes of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation，in a continued effort to promote high-quality “Belt and Road” cooperation. Latin America is an indispensable major participant of and practical contributor to China’s international cooperation under the BRI framework. Since the official launch in 2017，China-Latin America BRI cooperation has achieved sound progress，continuously raising the recognition of this initiative in the region. The BRI initiative helps expand industrial cooperation between economies，cultivate new growth engines and reshape Northeast Asian economic landscape. Driven by this initiative，China’s pragmatic cooperation with Central Asian countries has been improved and upgraded.

The part of Domestic Regions gives details on foreign cooperation of China’s key regions and cities in the BRI initiative，such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region，Yangtze River Delta，Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area，Northeast China，Wuhan，Xi’an and Qingdao. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development initiative and the BRI initiative both shoulder important missions in promoting regional cooperation and opening up. The two initiatives support and boost each other and will inevitably pursue innovation-driven development through alignment and integration. As the integration process deepens，the Yangtze River Delta becomes more powerfully engaged in and contributive to the BRI development. Since China launched the BRI initiative，Guangdong has advanced the construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area，as an important measure to implement the major BRI strategy of the Central Government，promote a new round of high-level opening up and create new advantages in international competition. Northeast China has fostered new economic growth engines by means of structural transformation，innovative development，investment attraction and technological upgrading，which secures noticeable achievements of the revitalization strategy. The demonstration zone for China-SCO local economic and trade cooperation have been established as an important outcome of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization （SCO） Qingdao Summit. Being the only one of its kind，it is not only an important platform to serve China’s opening-up undertaking，but also a focal point for exploring local economic and trade cooperation under the framework of multiple and bilateral cooperation. Facing he historical opportunities brought by the BRI initiative，Xi’an has enjoyed huge driving force arising from its unique advantages，which has transformed its urban attributes to present new characteristics in the new era. As a core city for the rise of Central China and in the city cluster along the middle reaches of Yangtze River，Wuhan closely follows the principles of action，construction priorities and cooperation mechanisms of the BRI initiative to vigorously build the China-Europe （Wuhan） Railway Express and innovatively advance the Wuhan Pilot Free Trade Area，while taking into account its own advantages and characteristics.

The part of Monographic Studies examines the progress of cooperation in key fields for China and BRI. The China-Europe Railway Express，which is a BRI flagship project，serve as an important carrier for deepening pragmatic cooperation among Asian and European countries. China’s energy investments in the “Belt and Road” has shifted the focus from mergers and acquisitions of traditional fossil energy resources，especially oil and gas resources，to green investments in power generation and energy infrastructure such as oil and gas transmission pipelines. For the purpose of high-quality development，overseas trade and economic cooperation zones need to keep up with China’s development strategies as well as comply with the strategic requirements of host countries. More importantly，they should make substantial contributions to investment and trade globalization，reasonable industrial division of labor and sustainable global supply chain system. As the influence grows worldwide，the BRI initiative’s presence in the international information arena will become increasingly associated with China’s national image. International social security cooperation will be put on the agenda，considering the inevitable increase in economic and trade activities and labor mobility between China and BRI countries （regions） with the advancement of the initiative.