Day By Day Coverage: The 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation
Stay up-to-date on all the news from the second BRF (April 25 - 27, 2019 in Beijing) right here!
Pre-event announcements & NEWS
Preparations underway for the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation
Switzerland joins the Belt and Road Initiative
Preparations underway. Daily schedule revealed.
Prior to BRF Chinese government releases a progress report on BRI to date. In English translation and the original Chinese.
Infographic comparing the first Belt and Road Forum with the second Belt and Road Forum
Infographic: Xi Jin Ping’s quotes on the BRI
Watch this 4 minute video to understand the BRI and the BRF
Key News from the BRF 2019
Xi’s speech at the 2019 BRF in Beijing (translated English text)
Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director lauds BRI 2.0
Video summary of the first 6 years of the Belt and Road Initiative
List of heads of state attending:
President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China
Heads of state in alphabetical order of country name:
President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President Alexander Lukashenko of the Republic of Belarus, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah of Brunei Darussalam, President Sebastián Piñera Echenique of the Republic of Chile, President Nicos Anastasiades of the Republic of Cyprus, President Miloš Zeman of the Czech Republic, President Ismail Omar Guelleh of the Republic of Djibouti, President Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, President Uhuru Kenyatta of the Republic of Kenya, President Sooronbai Zheenbekov of the Kyrgyz Republic, President Bounnhang Vorachith of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, President Khaltmaagiin Battulga of Mongolia, President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi of the Republic of Mozambique, President Bidya Devi Bhandari of Nepal, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte of the Republic of the Philippines, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of the Portuguese Republic, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Aleksandar Vučić of the Republic of Serbia, President Ueli Maurer of the Swiss Confederation, President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Vice President and Prime Minister H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the Republic of Austria, Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of the Hellenic Republic, Prime Minister Orbán Viktor of Hungary, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of the Italian Republic, Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad of Malaysia, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Prime Minister Imran Khan of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of the Republic of Singapore, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of the Kingdom of Thailand, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and Vice President Jusuf Kalla of the Republic of Indonesia,
Also participating was Secretary-General António Guterres of the United Nations and Managing Director Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund.
Group photo of all heads of state attending the 2019 BRF
Key points from the final day of the BRF:
Xi addresses some key BRI criticisms in his keynote address at the Belt and Road Forum (BRF).
Xi’s 3 Key BRI Promises:
1) Xi promised that all participants would benefit, not just China – vowing to get rid of unfair subsidies for Chinese companies.
2) Xi promised to address corruption – proclaiming “zero tolerance” for corruption and announcing the “Clean Silk Road Beijing Initiative.”
3) Xi promised that BRI projects will be environmentally sustainable and announced the “One Belt, One Road Green Investment Principle”
Joint communique of the Leader’s Roundtable of BRF 2019
Results of the 2019 BRF
Full list of 283 concrete results from the 2019 Belt and Road Forum (BRF)
Xi speaking at the BRF 2019 in Beijing
The “Belt and Road Initiative” is well-designed and expanding, making the second forum on the ambitious infrastructure and development project about fine-tuning and enhancing. President Xi Jinping, in his keynote address on Friday to dozens of world leaders, focused on cooperation and how the benefits are for all involved.
Moves to allay concerns through measures including ensuring the Chinese currency remains stable, the adopting of internationally recognised standards of debt sustainability, pledging to uphold intellectual property protection and greater transparency, were understandably welcomed.
They are proof that the idea, although Beijing’s, is about growth, inclusiveness, sharing and multilateralism.
Compared to the first forum in 2017, Xi did not unveil new initiatives. He does not have to; the project is already advanced, 126 countries and 29 international organisations having signed cooperation agreements since he announced it in 2013.
Spend 4 minutes and understand what all the fuss is about.
Day 1: April 25, 2019
News to be added daily.