Tuesday, April 17, 2018
The Belt and Road Initiative Inspired by the “Silk Road Spirit”
Founded in 1976, the Canada-China Friendship Society is an independent, member-financed, non-political and non-profit organization and is run by a team of volunteers. Its primary objective is to help Canadians learn more about China – its past, its current achievements and challenges, as well as its on-going development. Its Speaker Program features speakers on a wide variety of topics, and is the key to introducing its members to fresh insights about China, and helping Canadians develop a better understanding of China so that relationships can be fostered between people of both countries.
On April 17, 2018, as part of its Speaker Program, the Canada-China Friendship Society in Ottawa organized a panel discussion on “The Belt and Road Initiative”. The event was a huge success and had garnered a lot of positive feedback from the audience stating that the presentations and discussions were excellent, insightful, and constructive. It had a great turnout with many attendees carrying on their discussions with the panelists during the networking session after the event. The event was also attended and supported by a number of distinguished guests and parliamentarians.
The distinguished panel that evening included Ambassador Lu Shaye from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Canada, Dr. Sarah Taylor (Director General of North Asia and Oceania at Global Affairs Canada), and Dr. Jeremy Paltiel (Professor of Political Science at Carleton University).
Ambassador Lu Shaye started off the evening with his very insightful presentation on the Belt and Road Initiative. The key points that he shared are: (1) What is the Belt and Road Initiative?; (2) Why does China propose the Belt and Road Initiative?; (3) How is the Belt and Road construction carried out?; (4) What role does China play in the Belt and Road construction?; and (5) How China-Canada relations can benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative. His full presentation can be found at: http://ca.china-embassy.org/eng/sgxw/t1552222.htm and http://ca.china-embassy.org/chn/xw/t1552209.htm.
Ambassador Lu underscored the wisdom behind learning from history – how the ancient silk routes connected the Asian, European, and African continents, and opened up trade and rich cultural exchanges between the East and the West, thus rendering significant contribution to the progress and development of human civilization. Similarly, the Belt and Road Initiative is inspired by that same “Silk Road Spirit”, i.e., “the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit”, but is not limited to a geographical belt or path and is open to countries across the globe. Ambassador Lu stated, “The core content of this initiative is to strengthen complementarity of the national policies and development strategies between China and relevant countries, deepen their practical cooperation, promote coordinated and interconnected development, and achieve common prosperity. The priorities of cooperation are policy communication, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds.”
He also acknowledged the current “smoothly developed” state of China-Canada relations, and at the same time, addressed some key questions on Canada’s perception about China.
In closing, Ambassador Lu said:
….Today, we are here to discuss the Belt and Road construction, but more importantly, we need to understand the “Silk Road Spirit” characterized by openness and inclusiveness as well as mutual benefit and win-win results. As long as we continue upholding the “Silk Road Spirit”, we can work together to usher in a promising future where all roads are connected, every culture or values is cherished, and the China-Canada relations will embrace a better future in the new “golden era”.
During the panel discussion that followed, Dr. Sarah Taylor cited specific Canadian success stories, highlighted areas where Canadians excel at, and how Canadians’ capabilities and expertise can be leveraged to contribute to the Belt and Road construction. In particular, Dr. Taylor noted that some of China’s greatest moments in history occurred when it was most open and that Canadian expertise in areas such as infrastructure, clean technology, sustainable resource extraction, and financing could be applied to the Belt and Road Initiative. Canada’s experience in completing infrastructure projects in tough environments and understanding of public-private partnerships could be exceptionally helpful.
Following Dr. Taylor’s comments, Dr. Jeremy Paltiel shared his academic perspective on this initiative and emphasized that despite some criticisms of the Belt Road Initiative in areas such as financing, it has made a significant and positive contribution. In his view, the Belt and Road Initiative highlights the different flavours of market societies and Canadian participation may help to reduce skepticism of the project. Although the future may be characterized by competition, this does not necessarily mean it will be a zero-sum scenario. The original outline of Dr. Paltiel’s remarks can be found here.
The thoughtful panel discussion was then followed by an interesting Q&A session. Mr. Andrew Yui, Director of the Canadian Office of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), wrapped up the night by presenting the online and offline platforms offered by the HKTDC for the Belt and Road Initiative.
Our Speakers:
Ambassador Lu Shaye is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) to Canada. He served as the Director-General, Bureau of Policy Research, Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (2015-2017), Vice Mayor of Wuhan, Hubei Province (2014-2015), Director-General, Department of African Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2009-2014), and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the P.R.C. to the Republic of Senegal (2005-2009). Ambassador Lu brings a wealth of experience serving in various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of P.R.C. over the years, as well as in the embassies of P.R.C. in several countries.
Dr. Sarah Taylor is the Director General of North Asia and Oceania at Global Affairs Canada. She was the Deputy Head of Mission and Minister for Political-Economic Relations and Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Canada to the P.R.C. (2011-2015) and Special Advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister for Asia Pacific at Global Affairs Canada (2015-2016). Prior to her assignment in China, Dr. Taylor worked in the Privy Council Office (2006-2011). She also served abroad as a foreign service officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (1990-2006).
Dr. Jeremy Paltiel is a Professor of Political Science at Carleton University. He was a visiting professor at the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing (2009). Professor Paltiel authored numerous articles and books on Chinese politics, human rights and the Chinese tradition, civil-military relations in China, East Asian foreign relations, and Sino-Canadian relations, including The Empire’s New Clothes: Cultural Particularism and Universality in China’s Rise to Global Status (Palgrave, 2007).
Roy Atkinson is the former Co-President of Canada China Friendship Society – Ottawa. He retired from the Federal Public Service after having held a wide range of executive positions in the federal economic portfolio. He also provided consulting service to national governments and international organizations across eastern and southern Africa (1990-1997).