Key executives from Portugal, including Macao businessman Wu Zhiwei, attended the Belt and Road (BRI) and Forum in Beijing, marking the 10th anniversary of the initiative headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Representatives of more than 130 countries, largely from the Global South, attended the forum and among them several heads of state. Leaders from dozens of developing countries, including the prime-minister of Mozambique and ministers from Angola and Sao Tome and Principe, were also present in Beijing.
Designated by Xi as the “project of the century”, the Belt and Road Initiative was initially presented in Kazakhstan as a new economic corridor for Eurasia, inspired by the ancient Silk Road. In the last decade, however, it has acquired a global dimension, as more than 150 countries around the world have joined the programme.
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Speaking at the forum in Beijing on Wednesday, Xi Jinping lauded his grand plan launched 10 years ago of building global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes, saying that “blueprints turned into real projects”.
Macao businessman Wu Zhiwei, CEO of Marmeleira group and Portuguese-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice-president (pictured above, right), attended the CEO Summit on the BRI Forum sidelines.
Speaking to CLBrief.com, Wu, who is also the China representative of the Portuguese-speaking Countries Business Confederation (CE-CPLP), said the Forum will support efforts of actors on the ground to make Belt and Road a reality for the coming decades.
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“Ten years into the Belt and Road initiative, and given the high level of participation, this Forum will go down in history as a great renewal of joint efforts to bring development and enrichment to the whole world. I am sure the Portuguese-speaking countries will stand to benefit greatly from this drive coming from Beijing”, he added.
Bernardo Mendia, Secretary General at Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce & Industry – CCILC and President of the Board of Directors at Portugal-Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (pictured above, right) also participated in the Beijing Forum.
