Xi's Belt and Road speech wins wide praise

Mats Harborn, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Mats Harborn, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China

"The European Chamber believes that the success of the Belt and Road Initiative will largely be predicated on open markets, balanced trade and reciprocity.

Furthermore, efficient execution is needed to ensure that the selected infrastructure and other projects deliver real value to the respective economies and keep the risks of the financers to a minimum.

With the Belt and Road Initiative now moving from a grand vision into concrete bottom-up plan of action, the European Chamber hopes to see more European companies involved.

The line-up of global institutions ready to engage and support the Belt and Road Initiative suggests that the individual projects are well thought through and aligned with the global goals as set out in the COP21 and in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

As the Chinese economy grows, China should take a larger role in international affairs and look to be a constructive force in improving the existing global governance structures.