Strategy for Bringing the Greater Eurasian Partnership and the Belt and Road Initiative Together. Seeking Answers
The ‘Strategy for Bringing the Greater Eurasian Partnership and the Belt and Road Initiative Together. Seeking Answers’ panel session took place on opening day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2019 on 5 June.
A scholarly paper bearing the same name was read during the session. Session participants noted the paramount importance of pairing two megaprojects put forward by China and the Russian Federation, namely, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Great Eurasian Partnership, the implementation of which will seek to overcome the global crisis, strengthen confidence-building measures, and scientific, technological, and economic cooperation between the cultures and states of Greater Eurasia.
The speakers believe that it is vitally important that Russian-Chinese cooperation and realisation of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt focus on the development and implementation of a joint “Strategies for a scientific and technological breakthrough based on accelerated development of scientific discoveries and basic inventions and innovations”, which will ensure an increase in competitiveness in the conditions of the sixth technological order.
The implementation of the Strategy will make it possible to create a differentiated transport infrastructure and, above all, the Northern Sea Route, as well as high-speed railways to reduce the time and cost of delivering goods between Asia and Europe.
According to Chen Zhigang, Vice President of the Association for the Promotion of Business Relations of the China Business Center and President of the Chinese Society of St. Petersburg, “nowadays all internal and external factors require new steps and approaches. It is necessary to develop new standards for integration”.
