China's top economic planner says over 90% of the results on the outcome list released after last year's Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation have been implemented.
The comments were made at a press conference on Wednesday, one day after the one-year anniversary of the event's conclusion.
The inaugural Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing in May 2017.
29 foreign heads of state and government leaders, as well as 1500 other delegates from over 130 countries, attended the forum.
The event yielded a list of deliverables covering five key areas, namely policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people exchanges.
Meng Wei, the spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, says most of the results on the event's outcome list have become implemented and normalized over the past year.
"China has signed 103 documents with 88 countries and international organizations on jointly implementing the Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation last year yielded a list of deliverables, including 279 concrete actionable results, with 255 of them have been normalized as regular practices," says Meng.
A number of major projects have produced remarkable achievements.
"Major projects, such as Indonesia's Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway, the Gwadar Port in Pakistan and the second line for the China-Russia oil pipeline, have all seen progress at an early stage. The construction of the Digital Silk Road is being carried out smoothly. More than 8,000 China-Europe freight trains have made their journeys, reaching 42 cities in 14 European countries," says Meng.
Trade volumes between China and other participating countries in the Belt and Road Initiative have surpassed 5 trillion U.S. dollars, while China's direct investment to those countries has surpassed 70 billion U.S. dollars.
China has also established 75 economic and trade cooperation zones in those countries, creating more than 200,000 job opportunities for locals.
Meng Wei says the Belt and Road Initiative will remain open and inclusive, and China will stick to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.
She says no participants will be forced to buy or sell, and the market is big enough for all suitable enterprises to get involved.
The official adds that open and transparent information disclosures about the companies involved are also guaranteed.
China will host the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019.
