{"id":81228,"date":"2017-05-14T07:17:19","date_gmt":"2017-05-14T07:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=5ff51aaf5e95acbb2a527f394e8e1c3c"},"modified":"2017-05-14T07:17:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-14T07:17:19","slug":"speech-belt-and-road-forum-in-beijing-chancellors-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=81228","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Belt and Road Forum in Beijing: Chancellor’s speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It is an honour to speak at this important forum.<\/p>\n

I commend President Xi for his excellent speech this morning\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and for setting in train such a bold and visionary project.<\/p>\n

This initiative is truly ground-breaking in the scale of its ambition\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026spanning more than sixty-five countries, across four continents\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and it has the potential to raise the living standards of 70% of the global population.<\/p>\n

Context<\/h3>\n

China\u2019s ability to drive phenomenal economic development is well proven.<\/p>\n

Since 1980 the Chinese economy has grown by over 2,500%\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026this year, it is expected to account for a quarter of global economic growth.<\/p>\n

And of course the reason economic growth matters is because of how it transforms peoples\u2019 lives\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026800 million Chinese citizens have been lifted out of poverty in the past 40 years.<\/p>\n

Driving forward<\/h3>\n

Trade has played an important role in China\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n

Indeed, global trade has underpinned much of the increase in prosperity that we have seen globally.<\/p>\n

We have to acknowledge however that rapid economic change has been unsettling for some of our citizens.<\/p>\n

As leaders we must respond to these concerns\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026by continuing to seek new opportunities for trade\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026but at the same time ensuring that all our citizens are reaping the benefits that it brings.<\/p>\n

The Belt and Road initiative provides us with a great opportunity to put these words into action.<\/p>\n

As President Xi has said\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026the initiative must \u201cfollow the principle of wide consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefit\u201d.<\/p>\n

I agree.<\/p>\n

And it is my belief that Britain, lying at the Western end of the Belt and Road, is a natural partner in this endeavour.<\/p>\n

Britain has, for centuries been one of the strongest advocates of an open global trading system.<\/p>\n

And as we embark on a new chapter in our history, as we leave the European Union\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026we want to maintain a close and open trading partnership with our European neighbours\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026but at the same time, it is our ambition to secure free trade agreements around the world with new partners and old allies alike.<\/p>\n

Our ambition is for more trade, not less.<\/p>\n

China clearly shares this ambition\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and I support President Xi\u2019s target to have mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreements in place with 40% of Belt and Road countries by the end of this year.<\/p>\n

Central to the project is of course the need to address infrastructure challenges along the Belt and Road.<\/p>\n

Asia\u2019s infrastructure needs alone are estimated at $26 trillion out to 2030\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and China has already pledged to invest $4 trillion in Belt and Road countries through this initiative.<\/p>\n

The UK can be a natural partner in delivering this infrastructure\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026supporting the finance, design, and delivery needed to make President Xi\u2019s vision a reality.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

China and the UK have a long and rich trading history\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026indeed the English first attempted to establish a trade route to China in the 16th Century\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026although it took us four decades to find one!<\/p>\n

I welcome the Belt and Road initiative as an opportunity to strengthen these ties\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and I am excited to see the progress that has already been made.<\/p>\n

In January, for the first time, a freight train carried goods from Yiwu on the East China Sea along a 7,500 mile journey to East London\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026it passed through seven countries hauling thirty four containers of goods during its historic fifteen-day voyage\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and, last week, it returned through Europe and central Asia to China, with containers full of British goods.<\/p>\n

This is just one example of the opportunities that the Belt and Road initiative is delivering\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026from the 900 projects that are already underway \u2013 representing almost $1 trillion of investment.<\/p>\n

So my message today is clear:<\/p>\n

As China drives forward the Belt and Road initiative from the East\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026we in Britain are a natural partner in the West\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026standing ready to work with all partner countries to make a success of this initiative\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and delivering the jobs, growth and higher living standards that must be our central ambition for all of our citizens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chancellor, Philip Hammond’s speech at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}