What they say

Editor's Note: President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the opening ceremony won acclaim from international delegates, experts and entrepreneurs. Below is a selection of comments from attendees, exclusive to China Daily.

President Xi Jinping's keynote speech was beautifully stated and had profound meaning. It was one of the most touching speeches I've heard in recent years.

The Belt and Road Initiative upholds the principle of openness and sharing by discussing and exploring collaborative models with all parties. This is highly impressive because China has no intention of imposing development models on anyone.

Manuel Salvador Quevador Fernandez, minister of habitat and housing, Venezuela

What I admire about China's leadership is its capacity to not just talk about dreams, but to actually turn them into reality.

President Xi described China's ambitions and demonstrated its capacity to drive a gigantic development plan, which is a new, brave and innovative idea. Innovation is at the core of the project, which will not only promote highways, railways and seaports, but also innovation-driven development.

The initiative will become, among other things, a digital silk road where the most advanced IT infrastructure and digital tools (including big data, artificial intelligence and automation) will make it possible to achieve the full potential of connectivity, narrow the digital divide among countries and regions related to the initiative and increase the efficiency of trade interaction.

Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a nonprofit organization in Brussels that promotes bilateral digital and internet cooperation

It was a very visionary, very comprehensive speech. I fully support President Xi's vision of the future and the prospects of this initiative, which will bring a lot of elements together. It's not only about infrastructure development, but also about bringing people closer together.

The initiative will bring the world peace and stability, and will definitely boost economic development and prosperity. Xi's vision shows an integrated approach. The initiative is not just an economic project; it will also bring cultures, nations and different religions closer.

Sokol Dervishaj, minister of transport and infrastructure, Albania

I was very impressed. President Xi really spearheads the values we all believe in: free trade, peace, environment and development, and, most important, that we need to live together in harmony and concord.

Erik Solheim, executive director of the UN Environment Programme

Excellent remarks. If you really listen to what he (Xi) said, he was talking about the future, looking at all the global challenges we have today. And not only looking at the challenges, but also the solutions. In a very eloquent, I'd even say in a very articulate, way he demonstrated that by looking at the past we can figure out the future.

Basically, what he said is that in the past when all cultures were interconnected, we had progress, we had prosperity, and most important, we had peace. So using the past as a way to the future through the Belt and Road Initiative is progress, prosperity and peace by connecting everyone. And with this, we have cultural advantages, trade advantages and economic advantages.

Umberto de Pretto, secretary-general of the International Road Transportation Union

President Xi stressed that the initiative must contribute to the eradication of social injustice and the reduction of income inequality. The very strong synergies between the Belt and Road Initiative and the UN 2030 Development Agenda are evident. The failure of globalization should not be a reason to abandon it, but rather a reason to improve it and correct the failure. I believe that's precisely what the Belt and Road Initiative tries to do.

Guy Ryder, director-general of the International Labor Organization

President Xi said we need to seize the opportunities presented by the latest changes in the energy mix and the revolution in energy technologies to develop global energy interconnection and achieve green, low-carbon development. I think he articulated very clearly the fundamental rationale for the energy transition that is happening in the world today, which needs to be an energy revolution for a clean future.

I think the idea he put forward is in our hands today because we have the technology to make it happen. Imagine a future where we can produce huge amounts of clean electricity very cheaply. That would dramatically reduce the problems we have with the environment and pollution. That is a big issue, not only in China, but also in other countries. It will also create a new paradigm for industrial development, creating new types of jobs and better-paid jobs in an industry that is less polluting.

Adnan Z. Amin, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency

President Xi's keynote speech showed China's firm support for the Belt and Road Initiative. In addition to addressing the concept, Xi further broadened the areas of cooperation under the initiative. He has also promised to inject more money into the Silk Road Fund and create more opportunities for people to receive different types of training, which means I can help Pakistan to join more projects under the initiative and do more for the development of Pakistan.

As Xi said in his speech, the initiative is about peace and common development. At the beginning, many had doubts about the initiative and feared that it could be China's move to increase its political influence. Such misunderstandings have gradually been eliminated.

Zafaruddin Mahmood, Pakistan's special envoy for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

President Xi's speech certainly was encouraging and could generate many long-term market growth points for both foreign and Chinese companies The initiative is not only a simple instrument for the promotion of trade, it is also a way of increasing connectivity, exchanges, mutual understanding and respect. Increasing connectivity and improving transportation infrastructures are two major pillars of the initiative.

Laurent Guyot, CEO of Thales China and vice-president of Thales Group - North Asia

President Xi's speech showed that China is a responsible country that aims to not only drive its own growth, but also boost the development of other countries and regions. We will step up efforts to share China's experience and technology with other economies.

He emphasized that it is important to nurture new growth points by taking advantage of the opportunities brought by the new industrial revolution. I believe the fourth industrial revolution is the only way to boost the global economic recovery. The new economy, bolstered by cloud computing, big data, the internet of things and artificial intelligence, is thriving and promoting the integration of traditional industries and new technologies. It has spawned many new formats, and will promote the transformation and upgrading of the global economy.

Sun Pishu, chairman and CEO of the Inspur Group

It was an exciting speech because President Xi wanted to show the world that the Belt and Road Initiative is a serious project that signals multilateral cooperation among countries. China is taking the first step with many concrete measures. The number of heads of states and governments shows that the world is excited about what China is doing.

Fausto Triana, reporter for the Prensa Latina News Agency, Chile

I admired the speech because this is exactly how we cooperate with China in Zeebrugge. We have a huge responsibility not only to boost trade, but also to spread the wealth to our people. Everybody is welcome to contribute to the route because it is the best path for stability and peace.

Vincent de Saedeleer, vice-president, Zeebrugge Port in Belgium

(China Daily USA 05/15/2017 page2)