XI'AN — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on May 11 put forward proposals including deepening public health cooperation for the high-quality development of the Belt and Road cooperation.

Wang attended and addressed the fifth Silk Road International Exposition, as well as the Investment and Trade Forum for Cooperation between East and West China in Xi'an, capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, via video link.

Wang called for deepening public health cooperation in an all-around way to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partners should strengthen unity, carry out information sharing and joint prevention and control, and strengthen international cooperation in vaccine research, production and distribution to realize vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

He called for enhanced connectivity to consolidate the foundation for higher-level development. He said BRI partners should accelerate the improvement of channels for personnel exchanges and cargo transportation, strengthen the infrastructure connectivity, promote the alignment of rules and standards, and deepen cooperation in digital interconnectivity.

BRI partners should stick to mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, and build a higher-quality economic and trade cooperation platform. He noted that partners should firmly safeguard the multilateral trading system, promote the construction of free trade zones, build an open world economy, and accelerate cooperation in emerging areas such as cross-border e-commerce and cloud exhibitions.

BRI partners should also focus on green and sustainable development, Wang said, calling for cooperation in the fields of green infrastructure, green energy and green finance.

Slovak First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Richard Sulik, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, and Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches via video link.

Hailing the fruits of the joint construction of the Belt and Road, the officials said they looked forward to deepening pragmatic cooperation with China in various fields under the framework of the BRI, strengthening international anti-pandemic cooperation, and promoting the early recovery of the regional and world economies.