BRI not owned by China, ACCDA President

China Economic Net

Beijing: “BRI is not owned by China. It is now owned by everybody”, said Mr. Kassem Tofailli, President of the Arab Chinese Cooperation and Development Association (ACCDA) on a webinar titled “Cementing Business To Business Connections Through BRI” hosted by the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies, Pakistan.

When opening his speech, he lauded the great management of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and echoed the Chinese philosophy of striving for the well-being of people in all countries, which is also the essence of BRI.

Instead of being an abstract concept, BRI provides concrete means for everyone to gain substantial benefit. Mr. Tofailli recalled their efforts to enable more people to know about this initiative through roadshows. “We went into communities and invited farmers, professors, engineers, educators, businessmen to explain to them the history of BRI and let discussions go on to identify their interests in BRI”. For farmers who are looking for oil consumers, for students who are lacking opportunities to learn, for small factory owners who want to sell their products, BRI can play a role. Businesses were invited to CIIE to enter a larger market, and students were welcomed in BRI countries other than their own.

Looking forward, he put forward some suggestions in terms of social responsibility, regional cooperation, and organisation.

He said that some parts of a huge project can be assigned to small- and medium-sized businesses to bring them into BRI development. To promote regional cooperation under BRI amid the pandemic, ACCDA is planning to propose some kind of cooperation or a format for the BRI countries that share common interests and grounds to pool resources in terms of finance and technology, not only bilateral, but tri-lateral or multi-bilateral to meet their respective local needs.

Mr. Tofailli also proposed to re-energize the Silk Road Chamber of Commerce and communicate on the best way forward. He called for more concentrated efforts to address specific issues in different fields and regions.

Ms. Farhat Asif, President of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies (IPDS), Mr. Faruk Boris, Executive Director of Center for the Promotion and Development of Belt and Road Initiative, Dr. Adnan Hafeez, General Secretary at a Pakistan Chamber of Commerce, and representatives from other BRI countries also attended the webinar.