SZ enhances policy coordination to ensure smooth BRI cooperation

Since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), or the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, Shenzhen has been actively building a multi-level policy coordination mechanism with BRI countries. Some successful practices of the city, such as the smart city cooperation between Shenzhen and Singapore and the memorandum of understanding on experience exchange and cooperation on Indonesia’s new capital planning, have been included in the list of practical cooperation projects of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Over the past decade, Shenzhen has received more than 28,000 overseas visitors in 3,050 different groups from Belt and Road countries, and established sister-city ties with 58 cities in BRI countries. Major events such as the thematic event of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting, and the “China in Sight, Global Insight” Forum 2023 have been successfully held in Shenzhen.

Attendees are seen during the thematic event of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting, which took place in Shenzhen in May 2018. Sun Yuchen

To deepen all-round cooperation with ASEAN, the city's second-largest trading partner and its major trading partner along the Belt and Road, Shenzhen has carried out 48 key cooperation projects with Singapore with a focus on digital connectivity and other fields. In addition, Shenzhen’s urban planning and design agencies have been actively participating in the planning and construction of Indonesia’s new capital in an orderly manner. To expand cooperation with Middle Eastern countries, Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies has been cooperating with Saudi Telecom Co. and Saudi Aramco on innovative applications of 5G in oil and gas field technologies.

Shenzhen has also been actively incorporating international economic and trade rules to facilitate cooperation with BRI countries. It has taken the initiative to establish the Belt and Road Life Sciences Economy Alliance, which has released seven BRI standards in the field of life science and technology.