China unveils action plan on Belt and Road Initiative

(Xinhua) Updated: 2015-03-28 15:03

March 2014 -- Premier Li Keqiang called for accelerating Belt and Road construction in the government work report. The report also called for balanced development of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

May 2014 -- The first phase of a logistics terminal jointly built by China and Kazakhstan went into operation in the port of Lianyungang in east China's Jiangsu Province. The terminal, with a total investment of 606 million yuan ($98 million), is considered a platform for goods from central Asian countries to reach overseas markets.

October 2014 -- Twenty-one Asian countries willing to join the AIIB as founding members signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing AIIB. As agreed, Beijing will be the host city for AIIB's headquarters. The AIIB is expected to be formally established by the end of 2015.

November 2014 -- President Xi announced that China will contribute $40 billion to set up the Silk Road Fund. During the Beijing APEC meetings, Xi announced that the fund will be used to provide investment and financing support for infrastructure, resources, industrial cooperation, financial cooperation and other projects in countries along the Belt and Road.

December 2014 -- The Central Economic Work Conference sketched out priorities for the coming year, which include the implementation of Belt and Road initiative. Earlier in the month, Thailand approved a draft memorandum of understanding between Thailand and China on railway cooperation.

January 2015 -- The number of AIIB founding members, many of which are important countries along the Silk Road routes, rose to 26 after New Zealand, Maldives, Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan officially joined.

Feburary 1, 2015 -- At a special meeting attended by senior leader Zhang Gaoli, China sketched out priorities for the Belt and Road initiative, highlighting transportation infrastructure, easier investment and trade, financial cooperation and cultural exchange.

March 5, 2015 -- Premier Li, in his government work report, again highlighted the initiative, saying China will move more quickly to strengthen infrastructure with its neighbors, simplify customs clearance procedures and build international logistics gateways.

March 8, 2015 -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi dismissed comparisons of the initiative to the US-sponsored Marshall Plan. The initiative is "the product of inclusive cooperation, not a tool of geopolitics, and must not be viewed with an outdated Cold War mentality," Wang said, adding that China's diplomacy in 2015 will focus on making progress on the Belt and Road initiative.

March 28, 2015 -- The National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce jointly released an action plan on the principles, framework, and cooperation priorities and mechanisms in the Belt and Road Initiative after President Xi Jinping highlighted the strategy the same day while addressing the opening ceremony of the 2015 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in the coastal town of China's southernmost island province of Hainan.

China welcomes countries to AIIB, By Li Xiang, China Daily

A detailed action plan for the "One Belt One Road" initiative has been drafted and a string of infrastructure projects is being carried out steadily, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday.

China welcomes countries from Asia and the world to participate in the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the initiative to revive the ancient Silk Road economic belt and the maritime Silk Road, President Xi said in his keynote speech at the opening of the Boao Forum in southern China's Hainan province.