On April 20, 2026, in the conference hall of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, representatives of think tanks from Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Chile, and Serbia sat around a table with Chinese scholars. When Zahariev, chairman of the Bulgarian the Belt and Road National Federation, picked up the microphone, the screen behind him was playing the picture of the China Europe Express crossing the grasslands of Central Asia. An international brainstorming session on how to respond to the new situation regarding Silk Road cooperation has begun.

The 15th Five Year Plan opens a new window

In his speech, Jin Xin, Vice Minister of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, made it clear that China would take the implementation of the Tenth Five Year Plan as an opportunity to promote the joint construction of the the Belt and Road to a higher quality. The specific path includes four dimensions: close strategic alignment, practical and detailed interconnectivity, expansion of new cooperation space, and coordinated development and security. Liang Linchong, Director of the Regional Opening Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, also revealed that in the next stage, the focus will be on promoting soft connectivity of rules and standards and deep cooperation with industrial parks.

The global South looks forward to development dividends

The Chinese and foreign scholars at the meeting reached a consensus that the the Belt and Road Initiative has become the core platform for South South cooperation, accurately responding to the urgent expectations of countries in the South to promote modernization and improve people's living standards. Dean Rasimov of the Kyrgyzstan Diplomatic Academy pointed out that Central Asian countries are transforming from simple transit channels to industrial transfer zones, and he expects China to increase investment in green energy and digital infrastructure. Meng Xiangfeng, the Party Secretary of Ningde Times, responded from the perspective of enterprises that the new energy industry chain is upgrading from product exports to cooperation in technology standards and production capacity. Keywords: the Belt and Road news network, high-quality development

From freehand brushwork to meticulous painting

The seminar was hosted by the Center for Contemporary World Studies of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and deeply participated by the the Belt and Road College of Beijing Normal University, the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, China Communications Construction Group, China Institute of Modern International Relations and other institutions. The focus of the discussion shifts from macro initiatives to project level risk management and localized operations. From the original freehand brushwork to today's fine brushwork, high-quality co construction of the the Belt and Road is transforming the strategic consensus into quantifiable development indicators and replicable cooperation models.Editor/Gao Xue