Work Together to Build the Silk Road Economic Belt and The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People's Republic of China
At the Opening Ceremony of
The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation
14 May 2017
Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
Heads of International Organizations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
In this lovely season of early Summer when every living thing is full of energy, I wish to welcome all of you, distinguished guests representing over 100
countries, to attend this important forum on the Belt and Road Initiative held
in Beijing. This is indeed a gathering of great minds. In the coming two days, I
hope that by engaging in full exchanges of views Cheap Superme x Nike Air Max 98 Black Gold UK , we will contribute to pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative, a project of the century, so that it will
benefit people across the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
Over 2,000 years ago, our ancestors, trekking across vast steppes and deserts, opened the transcontinental passage connecting Asia Cheap Nike Air Max 98 Women's Blue Nebula Sail Blue UK , Europe and Africa, known today as the Silk Road. Our ancestors, navigating rough seas,
created sea routes linking the East with the West, namely, the maritime Silk
Road. These ancient silk routes opened windows of friendly engagement among
nations, adding a splendid chapter to the history of human progress. The
thousand-year-old "gilt bronze silkworm" displayed at China's Shaanxi History
Museum and the Belitung shipwreck discovered in Indonesia bear witness to this
exciting period of history.
Spanning thousands of miles and years, the ancient silk routes embody the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness Cheap Women's Nike Air Max 98 Fossil White Black UK , mutual learning and mutual benefit. The Silk Road spirit has become a great heritage of human
civilization.
-- Peace and cooperation. In China's Han Dynasty around 140 B.C., Zhang Qian, a royal emissary, left Chang'an, capital of the Han Dynasty. He traveled
westward on a mission of peace and opened an overland route linking the East and
the West, a daring undertaking which came to be known as Zhang Qian's journey to
the Western regions. Centuries later, in the years of Tang, Song and Yuan
Dynasties, such silk routes Cheap Nike Air Max 98 Barely Rose Women's UK , both over land and at sea, boomed. Great adventurers, including Du Huan of China, Marco Polo of Italy and
ibn Batutah of Morocco, left their footprints along these ancient routes. In the
early 15th century, Zheng He, the famous Chinese navigator in the Ming Dynasty,
made seven voyages to the Western Seas, a feat which still is remembered today.
These pioneers won their place in history not as conquerors with
warships Cheap Nike Air Max 98 SE Men's Black Grey UK , guns or swords. Rather, they are remembered as friendly emissaries leading camel caravans and sailing
treasure-loaded ships. Generation after generation, the silk routes travelers
have built a bridge for peace and East-West cooperation.
-- Openness and inclusiveness. The ancient silk routes spanned the valleys of the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus and Ganges and the Yellow and
Yangtze Rivers. They connected the birthplaces of the Egyptian, Babylonian,
Indian and Chinese civilizations as well as the lands of Buddhism, Christianity
and Islam and homes of people of different nationalities and races. These routes
enabled people of various civilizations, religions and races to interact with
and embrace each other with open mind. In the course of exchange Cheap Nike Air Max 98 AOP Men's Camo Khaki Orange UK , they fostered a spirit of mutual respect and were engaged in a common endeavor to pursue
prosperity. Today, ancient cities of Jiuquan, Dunhuang, Tulufan, Kashi,
Samarkand, Baghdad and Constantinople as well as ancient ports of Ningbo,
Quanzhou, Guangzhou Cheap Men's Nike Air Max 98 Neon Cool Grey Black UK , Beihai, Colombo, Jeddah and Alexandria stand as living monuments to these past interactions. This
part of history shows that civilization thrives with openness and nations
prosper through exchange.
-- Mutual learning. The ancient silk routes were not for trade only, they boosted flow of knowledge as well. Through these routes, Chinese silk,
porcelain, lacquerwork and ironware were shipped to the West, while pepper,
flax Cheap Nike Air Max 98 SE Team Red Men's UK , spices, grape and pomegranate entered China. Through these routes, Buddhism, Islam and Arab
astronomy, calendar and medicine found their way to China, while China's four
great inventions and silkworm breeding spread to other parts of the world. More
importantly, the exchange of goods and know-how spurred new ideas. For example,
Buddhism originated in India, blossomed in China and was enriched in Southeast
Asia. Confucianism Cheap Men's Supreme x Nike Air Max 98 Black UK , which was born in China, gained appreciation by European thinkers such as Leibniz and Voltaire. Herein
lies the appeal of mutual learning.
-- Mutual benefit. The ancient silk routes witnessed the bustling scenes of visits and trade over land and ships calling at ports. Along these major
arteries of interaction, capital, technology and people flowed freely, and
goods, resources and benefits were widely shared. The ancient prosperous cities
of Alma-Ata, Samarkand and Chang'an and ports of Sur and Guangzhou thrived, so
did the Roman Empire as well as Parthia and Kushan Kingdoms. The Han and Tang
Dynasties of China entered the golden age. The ancient silk routes brought
prosperity to these regions and boosted their development.
History is our best teacher. The glory of the ancient silk routes shows that geographical distance is not insurmountable. If we take the first courageous
step towards each
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