On August 26, 2018, Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Jun attended the inauguration ceremony of the International Commercial Expert Committee (ICEC) of China's Supreme People's Court and delivered a speech. Zhang Jun pointed out that the ICEC, as an important institutional innovation of the international legal cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, will build important platforms for the exchanges and mutual learning of legal systems and the rule of law, and will also lay more solid legal support and institutional guarantee for better participation of all parties in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Zhang Jun also briefly introduced the preparation for the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held next year. The full text of the speech is as follows:

Speech by Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Jun at the Inauguration Ceremony of the International Commercial Expert Committee (ICEC) and the First Seminar

I am glad to attend the inauguration ceremony of the ICEC of China's Supreme People's Court. On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the inauguration of the ICEC!

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. In such an important period of time, the inauguration of the ICEC by the Supreme People's Court is of great significance. The ICEC, as an important institutional innovation of the international legal cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, will build important platforms for the exchanges and mutual learning of legal systems and the rule of law, and will also lay more solid legal support and institutional guarantee for better participation of all parties in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative for international cooperation based on the world development trend and China's opening-up momentum. This initiative, learning from the spirit of the ancient Silk Road and focusing on the infrastructure connectivity, is put forward with a fundamental purpose of exploring new driving forces for world economic growth and building platforms for international cooperation, so as to promote the development of economic globalization in a more open, inclusive, universally beneficial, balanced and win-win direction and achieve the bright vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

The construction of the Belt and Road Initiative sticks to the golden rule of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and upholds the cooperation concept of interconnected growth for win-win results, thus having received wide support and attracted active participation from the international community with its progress and achievements exceeding expectations.

First, the circle of friends has been expanded. Up to now, 103 countries and international organizations have signed cooperation documents with China. The concept of cooperation advocated by the Belt and Road Initiative has been incorporated into the outcome documents of major international mechanisms such as the United Nations, the G20, the APEC, the BRICS and the SCO, which is widely recognized by the international community.

Second, practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results. Guided by the initiative's five major goals of policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds, and its framework consisting of "six corridors and six channels serving multiple countries and ports", a large number of projects for promoting connectivity and industrial cooperation have taken root, which has injected new impetus into economic and social development of the host country and regional cooperation, and brought tangible benefits to the people of the participating countries. The view that the Belt and Road Initiative can bring about abundant opportunities has been universally accepted by all parties involved.

Third, the cooperation mechanism has been constantly improved. In May last year, the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully held in Beijing, which attracted 29 foreign heads of state and government leaders to attend, and a joint communiqué was issued on the forum. Representatives from more than 140 countries and over 80 international organizations gathered in Beijing to discuss development plans and achieved a list of more than 270 specific results. The forum has become an important cooperation platform for all parties to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative.

The practice over the past five years demonstrates that keeping abreast of the trend of the times, the Belt and Road Initiative has created new opportunities for the global economy, established a new platform for international cooperation, and made positive contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind, making it a lofty cause enjoying abundant support and benefitting the whole world.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Legal cooperation constitutes an essential fundamental project for the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The past five years have witnessed the joint efforts made by the Chinese side and its cooperation partners to increasingly strengthen legal guarantee under the Belt and Road Initiative. The contents that "the due obligation of international law should be shouldered by each party" and that "domestic rules and regulations should be abided" are clearly incorporated into the cooperation documents of the Belt and Road Initiative, showcasing that the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative not only respects the universal international laws but also complies with the stance of the domestic laws of all countries. The Chinese side plays an active role in participating in international multilateral treaties, signing bilateral treaties and co-hosting activities with international organizations.

We held the Forum on the Belt and Road Legal Cooperation this July with the attendees of nearly 400 representatives of international law circle from over 40 countries and 10-odd international organizations. State Councillor Wang Yi attended the forum and pointed out that regulations and the rule of law are not only the pass for the Belt and Road Initiative to go global but also the relief valve to cope with uncertainty risks and challenges of various kinds. And it further illustrates the importance of legal guarantee. The Statement of the Co-Chairs of the Forum on the Belt and Road Legal Cooperation was released at the forum, which formulates the "roadmap" for future legal cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will launch a legal cooperation research project under the Belt and Road Initiative and support the participating parties in carrying out legal exchanges and capacity building.

At present, the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative has entered a new stage with comprehensive and practical cooperation, and legal cooperation has also reached a new starting point. In the next five years, we will continue to uphold the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits with all participating parties, further strengthen the alignment of international rules and standards, improve the system of legal guarantee, create legalized business environment and promote the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with high quality and standards. We will continue to support the governments of countries participated in the Belt and Road Initiative, international organizations, private sectors, academic world and others in conducting legal exchanges so as to promote mutual learning between different legal cultures, share experience and practices, and jointly prevent legal risks. And we are also willing to strengthen cooperation on justice and law enforcement with the countries participated in the Belt and Road Initiative so that we can work together to combat cross-border crimes and push forward international anti-corruption cooperation.

China will hold the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019 and relevant preparation has been initiated. Under the principle of openness, inclusiveness and transparency, we will continue to further strengthen the alignment with all parties, deepen practical cooperation in different areas, strive for more tangible early harvests, jointly plan a new blueprint for international cooperation in next stage, and develop future-oriented partnerships under the Belt and Road Initiative. It is believed that with the joint efforts made by all parties, the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be a more brilliant and fruitful major international event, and will create more space for all countries' development and global economic growth.

At last, I sincerely wish members of the ICEC a happy career so as to make important contributions to creating diverse dispute settlement mechanisms that meet the need of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Thank you!