Beijing issues white paper on Belt and Road Initiative
The State Council on Tuesday released a white paper on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was launched a decade ago to boost cross-border infrastructure development and inter-regional connectivity.  The white paper, titled "The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future", outlines the values and achievements of the Silk Road Economic Belt strategy over the past decade.  "Since its launch 10 years ago, thanks to the combined efforts of all parties, cooperation under the BRI framework has expanded beyond the borders of China to become an international effort. It has evolved from ideas into actions, from a vision into reality, and from a general framework into concrete projects," the document said.  "Over the past decade, BRI cooperation has delivered real gains to participating countries. It has contributed to the sound development of economic globalisation and helped to resolve global development challenges and improve the global governance system." Going forward, the white paper said all countries should "bridge differences through dialogue" and "promote development through cooperation".  “Our goals are to pass on the torch of peace from generation to generation, sustain development, ensure that civilizations flourish, and build a global community of shared future,” it said.