Liu said in his keynote speech that General Secretary Xi Jinping announced eight major steps China will take to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, charting a new course for the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Calling Southeast Asia and South Asia pioneering demonstration areas for the joint construction of the BRI, Liu said the CPC has established multi-level, wide-ranging consultation mechanisms with political parties of Southeast Asian and South Asian countries, and actively contributed to the Belt and Road cooperation. At present, the joint construction of the BRI has entered a new stage of high-quality development. The most prominent pursuit of value is to adhere to unity and cooperation, opening-up and win-win results. The grandest vision is to join hands in realizing world modernization. And the most distinctive direction is to lead innovation, and be pragmatic and efficient. We are willing to work with political parties in all countries to implement the important consensus reached by General Secretary Xi Jinping and leaders of Southeast Asian and South Asian countries, give full play to the leading role of political parties, strengthen bilateral and multilateral communication and exchanges, and deepen the integration of development strategies. By focusing on the eight major steps and making use of mechanisms such as "political party+", we should support infrastructure cooperation and soft connectivity, and promote the construction of green Silk Road, digital Silk Road, and clean Silk Road. We should put the people first, make good use of platforms like the Silk Road Community Building Initiative, the Friends of Silk Road Club and Silk Roadster, and launch more "small yet smart" livelihood programs to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonds. We should focus on the overall situation of stability and development, practice true multilateralism and open regionalism, and inject strong power of political parties into building a community with a shared future for Asia and mankind.

Wang said, Yunnan, Southeast Asia and South Asia are connected by mountains and rivers and have close cultural ties. Since General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the BRI 10 years ago, Yunnan has become an increasingly important link in southwest China, and has played an increasingly prominent role in deepening exchanges and cooperation between China and Southeast Asian and South Asian countries as an important gateway. Yunnan has promoted great development through great opening-up, won the battle against poverty, built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and brought its economic aggregate to a new level. These major achievements and historic changes are a vivid epitome of China's great changes in the new era in border areas inhabited by ethnic groups under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. It is believed that representatives of political parties and guests from various countries will use Yunnan as a window to comprehensively perceive China's development and changes, understand the CPC's governance strategy, and feel the vitality of Chinese modernization. Yunnan will thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, practice the concept of "amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness", give full play to its geographical advantages and linking role, strengthen inter-party exchanges and think tank media interaction with Southeast Asian and South Asian countries, and work together to implement the eight major steps to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, jointly strengthen poverty reduction cooperation, promote interconnectivity, expand economic and trade cooperation, promote green development, deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, especially strengthen youth exchanges, promote the joint construction of the BRI for new results, and contribute to the construction of a community with a shared future for Asia.

Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, Leader of the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) and Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, said, the BRI proposed by President Xi Jinping is large and broad, effectively uniting more than 100 countries and building a bridge connecting all continents. Thailand is a partner of the BRI in the transportation field and is also honored to be a member of the Belt and Road Energy Partnership. Pirapan said they appreciate the Chinese side for working with BRI partners, including Thailand, to help each other and develop together. It is believed that with the joint efforts of all parties, the Belt and Road cooperation will achieve new successes, prosper, and benefit the people in the region.

Madhav Kumar Nepal, Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) and former Nepali Prime Minister, said, the BRI is an open and inclusive initiative without restrictions, exclusions, and political strings. It is a freight train for developing countries to realize modernization, a high-quality public product that China provides for the international community and a strong boost to maintain multilateralism. The initiative will greatly help Nepal with its modernization process and help it achieve its goal of transforming itself from a "land-locked country" to a "land-linked country". It is hoped that political parties of Southeast Asian and South Asian countries will cooperate closely to maintain regional peace, development and stability.

Ahmad Basarah, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and Deputy Chairperson of the People's Consultative Assembly said, President Xi Jinping proposed the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century in Indonesia 10 years ago. The initiative emphasizes equality, unity, and benefiting the people, and attaches importance to infrastructure construction and global trade cooperation. Indonesia has always fully supported it. The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is a model of the Belt and Road cooperation, and helps with Indonesia's national development and construction. Indonesia is willing to deepen cooperation with the Chinese side in interconnectivity, environmental protection, innovation, technology, people-to-people and cultural engagement and share development opportunities under the framework of the Belt and Road cooperation.

During the subsequent dialogue and exchange activities on jointly building the BRI, leaders of political parties of foreign countries including Muhammad Faruk Khan, Presidium member of the Awami League and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Parliament of Bangladesh, Suos Yara, First Vice Chairman of the External Relations Commission of the Cambodian People's Party and Chairman of the Fifth Committee of the National Assembly of Cambodia, Luluk NurHamidah, Chairperson of the International Department at the National Awakening Party (PKB) of Indonesia and a member of the Indonesian Parliament, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Chairman of the Pakistani Senate's Defense Committee, Ahsan Iqbal, Secretary General of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former Pakistani Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives, and Desmond Tan Kok Ming, Deputy Secretary-General and Assistant Organising Secretary of People's Action Party of Singapore said, as a grand vision that transcends national borders, the BRI closely connects different countries and people by building an extensive network covering infrastructure construction, trade and cultural exchanges. Currently, the Belt and Road cooperation projects are spread across Asia. Hundreds of millions of people benefit from the dividends related to the BRI. It provides a vision that represents hope, opportunity and progress.

Today's world needs cooperation more than ever. Developing cooperative relations among political parties can help us overcome confrontation, conflict and division, and open up a path to hope, common prosperity, and peaceful progress. It is hoped that political parties in the region will continue to promote Belt and Road cooperation, enhance resilience of regional economy, stimulate people-to-people dialogue, bridge regional and conceptual gaps, and let the results of the BRI better benefit people of all countries.

Wang Yubo, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and Governor of Yunnan Province, Sun Haiyan, Vice-minister of the IDCPC, Shi Yugang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, Zhao Shitong, Assistant-minister of the IDCPC, and others were present.

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