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UNDP Says BRI Can Create Sustainable Growth

UNDP Says BRI Can Create Sustainable Growth
UNDP Says BRI Can Create Sustainable Growth

The Belt and Road Initiative has tremendous potential for offering public goods to the world population, says the United Nations Development Program in the economic development along the Belt and Road 2017 report, launched Monday at the CDB headquarters in Beijing.

As a joint research product of UNDP, the China Development Bank, and the School of Economics at Peking University, the report provides a framework to access and analyze the BRI’s complexity and its effects on national and regional development. One of the report’s key assumptions is that with a shared vision, the Belt and Road can create a viable model for long-term, sustainable growth by giving the Sustainable Development Goals a central role in the initiative’s quest for economic prosperity, Business Insider reported.

“This report builds a solid foundation for UNDP’s future BRI engagement and cooperation with CDB,” said Nicholas Rosellini, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in China. “It [the report] suggests that countries along the Belt and Road, despite their vast diversity in levels of economic development, can jointly benefit through socio-economic cooperation,” he added.

The report highlights the linkage between BRI and the 2030 Agenda. The report holds that, by closely aligning the BRI with the SDGs, the BRI will not only contribute to the achievement of the goals in the areas of basic infrastructure, regional development, connectivity and industrialization, but also will facilitate the sustainable transformation of the countries and regions along the Belt and Road, with a focus on poverty reduction, environmental sustainability and inclusive social development.

“The launch of this report demonstrates CDB’s enduring support towards national development and the BRI. It highlights the cooperation between domestic and international top-tier research institutions, aiming to strengthen China’s research capabilities and knowledge sharing,” said Liu Yong, chief economist and head of the research wing of CDB.

With continuous reforms and opening-up over the past 30 years, China is now the world’s second-largest economy, contributing to 39% of the global growth in 2016 with a 14.2% year-on-year rise. China’s experience in economic development provides a useful avenue to explore the possibilities of industrial diversification in economies along the Belt and Road Initiative.

The assumption the report explores is that the aggregate economy of the countries and regions along the Belt and Road can promote global economic growth. Therefore, the initiative can give the opportunity for participating countries to get higher gains from trade and investment, entering foreign markets, diversify their exports, and most importantly to get skills, knowledge and technology—all considered as key factors for productivity enhancement and growth.

Countries can create capabilities, by improving macroeconomic and business conditions, improve physical infrastructure and utilities, and create a more business-friendly environment.

“UNDP hopes that these inputs can turn into actionable measures and that China’s leaders, as well as others along the Belt and Road and globally, will continue to aspire to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development in the coming decades,” Rosellini added.

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