September 2 afternoon，The 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit Press Center held the first briefing，Introducing the relevant situation of China-Africa joint construction of the “Belt and Road” to Chinese and foreign media。As of now，52 African countries and the African Union signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in jointly building the “Belt and Road” with China。China helps Africa initially form a railway backbone network、Continuously improve the highway backbone network、Improve port and airport facilities。In an exclusive interview with our reporter，Deputy Director of the Swedish “One Belt, One Road” Research Institute、Hussein Askary, a distinguished researcher at the Guangdong Institute of International Strategy at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said，Today，More and more countries in the world have felt the charm of jointly building the “Belt and Road” initiative，Enjoy the dividends of jointly building the “One Belt, One Road” initiative。In this context，The West must abandon zero-sum thinking，Stop slandering and slandering，Facing up and cherishing the great achievements made in jointly building the “Belt and Road” initiative。Only this，Only in order to adapt to the development belt jointly built by all countries in the world、The trend of the times and the expectations of the people to jointly build a road to happiness。

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Reviewing the history of international relations over the past few decades，Proposed by Askari，The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative provides a new model of cross-border economic cooperation that has been missing for a long time after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system。What is unique about it is that it transcends politics、Cultural and ideological differences，Emphasis on the common development goals of all countries。In the process of jointly building the “Belt and Road”，The sovereignty and dignity of all participating countries are always respected，This is a major innovation in the traditional global governance system。

Askari thinks，The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative demonstrates an effective way of financing development，That is, developing the real economy through large-scale infrastructure construction。This approach focuses on long-term results rather than immediate financial benefits。Looking at the so-called "aid" in the West，Not only cannot we eliminate poverty，It will also perpetuate poverty。In his opinion，bet365 app download Participating in the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” is an effective way for many countries to deal with the financial crisis。While China is helping co-building countries with infrastructure construction，It has also enabled these countries to achieve productivity improvements in many fields。For example，Transportation conditions of local factories、The power supply has been greatly improved。Increasing productivity helps create more economic income，And then help build the country to repay its debt。

Talking about the debt problem，Askari pointedly pointed out，“Money received from the West is often not used in any productive areas，It’s just used to pay off old debts，This is the real debt trap”。He analyzed，Some countries in the world are facing heavier debt burdens，But blind tightening is not the solution，On the contrary, it will harm the real economy of these countries。Improving productivity is the solution，This means more resources need to be invested in building modern infrastructure。

Some scholars once put forward the view that African countries need to borrow more money to fill large infrastructure deficits。To this，Askari does not believe that more funding alone will improve infrastructure，“But if there is no infrastructure，Includes education and medical infrastructure，Industrialization and modernization will not be achieved。Without the support of industrialization，Poverty cannot be eradicated。From a realistic perspective，Infrastructure loans should be long-term and have interest rates below 4%”。Askari told this reporter，“China has done very well in this regard”。

Askari pointed out，China’s infrastructure loans to countries co-building the “One Belt, One Road” usually have lower interest rates，This kind of long term、Loans with low interest rates can effectively help jointly build countries to increase productivity and GDP growth rate。When the loan matures，Infrastructure projects will bring returns that are much higher than the initial loan。Therefore，He thinks，China’s productive credit policy can provide lessons for the world。Askari suggestion，The vast number of developing countries that still have obvious infrastructure deficits，In the future, we should participate more actively and deeply in the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”，Working together with China。

　　“Debt trap theory” exposes the West’s “double standards”

In recent years，As cooperation in jointly building the “Belt and Road” continues to deepen and become more solid，Some Western countries are keen to concoct and hype the so-called "debt trap theory"。To this，Askari analysis pointed out，There are at least three major fallacies in the so-called "debt trap theory"。

First，From the perspective of debt causes，Countries in debt distress today were already in debt crisis long before China proposed bet365 betting tips the Belt and Road Initiative。This debt crisis is ostensibly caused by the economic downturn、Financial collapse，Or natural disaster、Terrorist activities、Caused by epidemics and other factors，But get to the root of it，It is derived from the naked colonial plunder in the history of Western countries and the economic exploitation that is still being "renovated" today。

Secondly，In terms of debt structure，The creditors of developing countries mainly come from Western countries or pro-Western institutions，Not China。Take Sri Lanka as an example，The analysis report released by Askari and his team in June 2022 shows that，Of all the country’s external debt，Debt to China only accounts for 10%，International capital market borrowings account for 47% of Sri Lanka’s external debt。It mainly comes from Western financial investors，Such as American asset management institution BlackRock and British asset management institution Ashmore，Other institutions accounting for more than 10% include the Asian Development Bank。In addition，Private and public institutions in Western countries account for 70% of Pakistan’s and 77% of Zambia’s foreign debt in 2022，China’s proportion of foreign debt in these two countries is 15% and 17% respectively。From another dimension，Sri Lanka and Zambia are also facing difficulties in repaying their debts, but also private institutions in Western countries，Instead of loans from China。

Finally，In terms of the nature of the debt，The loans issued by China and Western countries to developing countries are also very different。The biggest debt problem facing developing countries comes from short-term high-interest loans provided by Western countries。Developing countries have to accept these loans during emergencies to ease the pressure on fiscal and trade deficits，But these loans have little benefit for productive economic activities，It will also plunge these countries into a vicious cycle of unsustainable debt。In comparison，China provides long-term low-interest loans。With the help of these loans, a large amount of infrastructure was built，In fact, it helps developing countries embark on a virtuous cycle of national economic development。

　Beware of “Debt Trap Theory Version 2.0”

Through long-term research，Discovered by Askari，As the international community increasingly sees the true face of the so-called "debt trap theory"，Some Western countries have resorted to new tricks，An attempt to weaken the unity and cooperation between China and developing countries in jointly building the “Belt and Road”。"Their new slogan is，China should unreservedly reduce or forgive the debts of developing countries”，Askari calls this the “debt trap theory 2.Version 0”。In his opinion，“Some new arguments at first sound seem to be bet365 best casino games for the sake of developing countries，More confusing，But the essence is still generosity to others、An old trick to seek personal gain”。

Askari pointed out，Some people are calling for China to cancel most of the debt of countries affected by the current global financial and economic difficulties，Also requires China to provide funds for international rescue plans，Enable countries that are in debt crisis due to global financial and economic distress to reschedule their debt。Given the composition of the creditors of these debts，This is equivalent to a disguised request for China to provide a "blood transfusion" for private bondholders and investment funds in Western countries。

Not only that，Askari emphasizes，“Debt Trap Theory 2.Version 0” also distorts the facts，In analyzing the participants in bilateral credit activities，Deliberate conflation of state and non-state actors。As shown by the composition of Sri Lanka’s external debt，China’s share of private bondholders is much smaller than that of Western countries。Therefore，Exaggerating China’s creditor status，It’s just a word game deliberately manipulated by some countries，The purpose is to confuse the audience by substituting concepts，On the one hand, it transfers the responsibilities that Western countries should bear to China，On the other hand, it tries to alienate and destroy the friendly and cooperative relations between China and the vast number of developing countries。

"Teach a man a fish，It’s better to teach people how to fish”，Askari further pointed out，Only by helping developing countries truly achieve sustainable economic development，Only can they truly get out of debt difficulties。China has achieved many remarkable results in infrastructure construction cooperation with the countries co-building the “Belt and Road”。Many large-scale infrastructure projects have been successfully completed thanks to the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative，has begun to continuously play the role of "blood production" in the local area。These countries are also making progress on the road to reducing their debt burden。

In sharp contrast to this is，Some developing countries receive Western aid，Projects that are forced to accept only foreign direct investment，This is evident in the conditions attached to the loan。History has proven，Various so-called "aid projects" directly invested by Western countries，Or just superficial、Fashionable，Or the ultimate beneficiary is only the Western countries themselves，Therefore it is completely impossible to fundamentally change the face of the recipient country，Instead, they have been saddled with an increasingly heavy debt burden，This is the real “debt trap”。

　　Sending a signal of mutual benefit and win-win results

More than ten years，The Belt and Road Initiative takes infrastructure as the cornerstone of connectivity，Improved the overall business Bet365 app download environment of the jointly built country，Let the developing countries participate more deeply in the construction of the international economic system，Thus promoting global common development。Facing some skeptical voices in the West，Askari pointed out using the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway as an example，The core of the Belt and Road Initiative is to promote cooperation between China and co-building countries，Rather than geopolitical game。June this year，The signing ceremony of the intergovernmental agreement between the three countries on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was held in Beijing，It marks that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway connecting these three countries is turning from an idea into a reality。Askari commented，“As a landmark project to implement the joint construction of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative，The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway not only demonstrates the cooperation between the three countries、Firm determination for common development，It also sent a positive signal of mutual benefit and win-win to the international community”。

Askari mentioned，According to plan，The total length of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is about 523 kilometers，Of which 213 kilometers are within China，260 kilometers within Kyrgyzstan，About 50 kilometers within Uzbekistan，Projects in Kyrgyzstan require the construction of tunnels and bridges in higher mountains。“The difficulty of such a project is enough to discourage many countries，But China has the world’s top technology and rich experience in the field of large-scale infrastructure construction with complex landforms。For example，The Guinan High-speed Railway, which will be fully operational in 2023, passes through the complex karst landforms in southwest China，The bridge-tunnel ratio is as high as 90%。For China，Building bridges and roads over nearly impossible terrain has become an art form。"Askari praised，“The world’s leading level of infrastructure cannot be separated from the support of engineering technology。Many difficult railways、Bridge、Tunnel construction project，Reflecting China’s core components、New material、Amazing achievements in transformation of innovation achievements and other fields”。He gave an example，In tunnel construction，China’s self-developed shield machine, known as the “King of Construction Machinery”, accounts for 70% of the global market。Therefore，In Askari’s opinion，Promote connectivity through joint construction of the “Belt and Road”，Developing countries with backward infrastructure can directly benefit from China’s high-level infrastructure construction，Thus narrowing the infrastructure gap between countries，Stimulate economic development potential。

bet365 live casino login “The purpose of infrastructure construction includes enhancing the social productivity of the jointly built country，Not just promoting trade。"Askari said based on his experience of fieldwork in Xinjiang, China，The implementation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project means that Xinjiang is expected to become an industrial and logistics hub for the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”，Connections with Central Asian countries will also be further strengthened。This is conducive to promoting high-quality development in Xinjiang，Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan can also use this railway and other projects in the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” cooperation to promote their national development plans，Promote local cement、The development of steel and other related industries，And create high-quality job opportunities。

Askari observed，Central Asian countries have begun to incorporate the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative into the scope of reference for formulating national development plans。Under the framework of jointly building the “Belt and Road”，Trade between these countries and China has increased significantly。2023，The trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries reached 89.4 billion US dollars，27% year-on-year growth。What’s more important，Co-construction of the “Belt and Road” Initiative and Kazakhstan’s “Bright Road” New Economic Policy、Kyrgyzstan’s “National Development Outline Before 2026”、Tajikistan’s “National Development Strategy Before 2030”、Turkmenistan’s “Revival of the Silk Road” Strategy、The "New Uzbekistan" 2022-2026 Development Strategy and other initiatives and development strategies have achieved high-level docking、Same frequency resonance。Future，Infrastructure、Agriculture、Industry and other fields will continue to be the focus of cooperation between countries in jointly building the “Belt and Road”。

In addition to injecting strong impetus into the economic development of the jointly constructed country，Askari thinks，The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative has also played an important role in promoting regional peace and development。“The joint construction of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative will transform Central Asia and other regions into a stage for intense geopolitical competition between Western powers，Transform into a bridge of peaceful cooperation among countries。”Askari commented，The reason why such a transformation can be achieved，In the final analysis, it is because these countries and regions have achieved vigorous economic and social development in the cooperation in jointly building the “Belt and Road”。

“The joint construction of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative not only creates conditions for the jointly built economies to obtain the funds needed for economic development，It also helps countries in landlocked areas such as Central Asia send their abundant resources to the global market more and more efficiently，bet365 live casino games This has largely eliminated the traditional disadvantages of landlocked countries。Even some countries that have long been troubled by war and political turmoil，Also ushered in new opportunities for development。"Askari thinks，As Arab countries and Central Asian countries become China’s important economic partners，Geoeconomics is becoming a key factor in foreign policy。

“Economy will ultimately determine the development strategies and foreign policies of the countries in the ‘Heartland’ of Eurasia。”Askari firmly believes，Down-to-earth cooperation is far more convincing than rhetorical political rhetoric。"In the face of the facts，Western countries should view the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative with a more open attitude，Actively participate in Crossing the Mountains、Ocean and desert infrastructure under construction，Work with China to create a stable environment for global economic growth。”