One Belt One Road

The Hong Kong Government will expand the Belt & Road Office to take forward its work under the Belt & Road Initiative on a long-term basis.

Delivering his 2017 Policy Address today, Chief Executive CY Leung said he will create directorate posts and other permanent positions in the office.

On the 15th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the linkage between China’s Belt and Road initiative and other SCO members’ development strategies is discussed. Xi Jinping suggested to Putin that the two countries take the SCO as an important platform to dovetail China's Belt initiative with Russia's aspiration under the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) framework.

China's top legislature ratified an agreement on the founding of BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), which will fund infrastructure projects in the bloc and other developing economies. The NDB is expected to launch late this year or early next year.

During Li Keqiang’s visit to the European Union, the two economic giants expressed interest in linking the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), known as the Juncker Plan, with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. The integration of development strategies is expected to inject fresh impetus into China-EU economic ties.

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) legal framework was signed in Beijing. The multilateral bank has an authorized capital of $100 billion, 75% of which will come from Asian countries. China is so far the single largest stakeholder, holding 26% of voting rights. The bank will start operation by year end.

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli announced start of construction on the Chinese section of the China-Russia East Route natural gas pipeline. It is the largest China-Russia cooperative project conducive to diversifying energy strategy and guaranteeing the energy security of both countries.

The vice president of Bank of China (BOC) said BOC was optimizing distribution and resources in foreign countries, especially in ASEAN, in a bid to help the country push forward the Belt and Road initiative. The reported sale of Nanyang Commercial Bank (NCB), a wholly owned subsidiary of BOC Hong Kong, is the first step in the bank's plan. BOC also planned to recombine and transfer its businesses and assets in ASEAN to the BOC Hong Kong, to promote the Belt and Road Initiative.

In the first quarter of 2015, Trade with countries along the Belt and Road amounted to 236 billion U.S. dollars, which translates to 26 percent of China's total exports and imports during the period.

During Xi Jinping’s state visit to Pakistan, the first project of China's 40-billion-USD Silk Road Fund for investment in the Belt and Road initiative was unveiled. The fund will inject capital in China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Ltd, to develop Pakistan's Karot hydropower project and other clean-energy projects.

The Chinese central government has set up a special leading group to oversee the implementation of the Belt and Road initiatives, the office of the group said. The group issued a statement on Sunday following the release of the principles, framework, priorities and mechanism for the China-led Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives.