3. Working jointly for the "Belt" and "Road" initiatives meets China's needs for its own development and its cooperation with the outside world.

China's cause of reform and opening-up has been a resounding success. Unbalanced development, however, remains a problem, especially between the country's eastern region and central and western regions. To solve this problem, we need to promote transfers of resources and industries among the different regions, giving greater scope to the resource and geographical advantages of the central and western regions and tapping their potential for exchanges and cooperation with neighboring countries. Building the Economic Belt along the Silk Road may be an important way to this end.

China's opening-up in the past 30-odd years has been more targetted to the east and the developed world. Today, as we turn around and set our eyes to the west direction, we see a big market on the Eurasian continent. This is a vast region calling for our vigorous efforts to explore, develop and manage. The Third Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee made the decision to expand and accelerate the opening of the inland and border regions so as to build an economic corridor criss-crossing the country. At the same time, coastal areas in China's east region should build on their existing strengths, open still wider to the outside, speed up FTA implementation aimed at neighboring countries and deepen the maritime economic cooperation scheme with the relevant countries. The "Belt" and "Road" initiatives, by covering multiple provinces, autonomous regions and major municipalities in China's central, western and east coastal regions and being consistent with the country's regional development strategy, the new urbanization strategy and the opening-up strategy, will serve as a big booster for the shaping of an all-directional opening China.

The "Belt" and "Road" initiatives also come as a highlight in China's diplomacy in the new era, especially its neighborhood diplomacy. Neighborhood diplomacy occupies the primary position in China's overall diplomacy. As a policy priority, China works hard to develop more friendly political relations, stronger economic ties, closer security cooperation and deeper cultural links with the neighboring countries. The state of China's relations with the rest of the world finds expression, first and foremost, in the changing relations between China and its neighbors. Whether or not China can continue to live harmoniously with its neighbors and help each other along the way will have an important bearing on the way China conducts its relations with the world. China has adhered to the policy of building friendship and partnership with the neighbors and abided by the principle of bringing harmony, security and prosperity to the neighborhood. We hope to participate more actively in international affairs including those in the neighborhood through the "Belt" and "Road" initiatives, highlighting the concept of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, providing more public goods and playing a more effective role as a responsible major country. The initiatives will also help dovetail China, its neighbors and other Eurasian countries on the issue of development strategies, build an even closer network of common interests, and bring integration of respective interests to a higher level, whereby China and all countries in the neighborhood can benefit from each other's development and the common development of the whole continent.