Thanks to our efforts in the past few years, a general framework of cooperation has been put in place. It is like completing a drawing: The outline has been sketched; now we must fill in the fine details. And we need to do so with meticulous care.

We should move forward faster with our projects, particularly those that will meet the pressing needs of people in host countries. To this end, we need to establish working mechanisms supported by targeted measures.

We will make every effort to expand markets. We should establish more trading platforms, encourage competitive Chinese enterprises to invest in BRI countries, and develop cross-border e-commerce and other new forms and models of trade, and seek balanced trade.

We should improve financing. We should adopt policies to strengthen financing for BRI cooperation. We should continue the internationalization of the RMB in an orderly manner, encourage private sector investment in infrastructure and resource projects in BRI partner countries, and provide financing in foreign currencies to Chinese enterprises that operate in these countries.

We should promote exchanges in the fields of education, science, technology, culture, sports, tourism, health, and archaeology, and develop aid projects under the framework of BRI cooperation to improve people's lives.

We should ensure that Chinese enterprises invest and operate in a well-regulated way and that they comply strictly with the laws and regulations of host countries and protect the environment. They should fulfill their corporate social responsibilities and become pacesetters in pursuing the BRI.

We should take overseas risk prevention and management seriously. We should improve our risk prevention mechanisms and upgrade security safeguards so as to guard against security risks.

(Source: Extract from Xi Jinping's speech at a symposium marking the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing, capital of China, August 27, 2018.)

This episode is presented by Tian Wei.