China proposes strengthening institutional building for int'l BRI coop.

TOKYO, Oct 18 (KUNA) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday proposed strengthening the institutional building for international Belt and Road cooperation, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi made the remark in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of an international forum marking the 10th anniversary of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
"China will work with its Belt and Road Initiative partner countries to strengthen the building of multilateral cooperation platforms covering energy, taxation, finance, green development, disaster reduction, anti-corruption, think tank, media, culture and other fields," Xi was quoted as saying.
China will continue to host the Belt and Road Form for International Cooperation and establish a secretariat for the Forum, he said.
The Chinese leader also said his country will work with all parties involved to usher Belt and Road cooperation into a new stage of high-quality development, and make relentless efforts to achieve modernization for all countries.
"Global modernization should be pursued to enhance peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation and bring prosperity to all," Xi said.
He also unveiled that Beijing will support an open world economy, with its total trade in goods and services expected to exceed USD 32 trillion and USD 5 trillion respectively in the 2024-2028 period.
In addition, China will establish pilot zones for Silk Road e-commerce cooperation, and enter into free trade agreements and investment protection treaties with more countries, he said.
Furthermore, Xi pledged that China will continue to advance scientific and technological innovation as one of the major steps to support the joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.
The country will also increase the number of joint laboratories built with other Belt and Road parties to 100 in the next five years, and support young scientists from other countries to work on short-term programs in China, he said.
Xi concluded by saying that China has become a main trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions and a primary source of investment for more countries. (end) mk.mt.