The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing on Oct 17-18 was nothing less than historic and transformative. The numbers speak for themselves: 22 heads of state among more than 4,000 representatives from over 140 countries and regions and 30 international institutions. The event commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and put to rest any doubts about the value of China's development program for the international business community.

Since President Xi Jinping first announced the BRI in the fall of 2013, it has become an engine of global infrastructure, energy, and livelihood projects including high-speed railways, highways, power plants, ports, airports, bridges, and natural gas pipelines across over 70 countries. Notable projects include the high-speed railways from China to Laos and between Jakarta and Bandung in Indonesia, the Lekki Port in Nigeria, the Karuma Hydroelectric power station in Uganda, the China-Russia East Line natural gas pipeline, and the first China-Russia highway bridge.

The achievements of the BRI over the last 10 years are stunning. As of June, there has been US$19.1 trillion cumulative trade between China and the BRI partners with the total value of transported goods on China-Europe Railway Express worth more than US$300 billion.  

President Xi has said all along that the goal of his agenda is to not only achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation but also build a global community with a prosperous, shared future for all humankind. The successful implementation of the BRI is a core mechanism for achieving this agenda and the way for fair global modernization.

From the beginning, there have been doubters who said that the BRI was simply a way for China to export some of its excess construction materials and capacity. Others have tried unsuccessfully to portray the BRI as China’s “debt trap diplomacy”, but such claims have been widely refuted in leading Western publications including The Atlantic.

During the forum, President Xi announced an eight-point strategic approach for the BRI which encompasses: augmenting multidimensional infrastructure connectivity network via railways, shipping routes, and trade corridors; supporting an open world economy by lifting investment restrictions and forging trade accords; undertaking pragmatic cooperation through flagship and grassroots livelihood ventures and vocational education with financial backing; promoting green development and environmental collaboration; advancing scientific and technological innovation through exchanges and discourses; fostering people-to-people exchanges through cultural and academic programs; upholding integrity-based cooperation via integrity-building principles, frameworks, and training; and consolidating institutional architectures for cooperation across myriad multilateral platforms while sustaining high-level forums and a secretariat.

Two initiatives in particular are worth mentioning. The first is the relaxing of restrictions on foreign participation in China’s manufacturing sector. As a result of this change, we can expect an increase in high-quality foreign investment in Chinese manufacturing in the coming year.

The second is the calling for a Global Initiative for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid development of AI. Additional programs launched this year in China include the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative.

Together, these initiatives reflect China's concerted efforts to provide global leadership on the most pressing issues affecting the planet. These initiatives are not only a projection of China's growing soft power. They reflect fair and equitable policies designed to uplift all nations and build a prosperous and stable future.

This multifaceted strategy promotes common prosperity through a modern, inclusive, collaborative mechanism. Additionally, it demonstrates that while physical infrastructure will remain a key part of the BRI, its scope will expand to include a broader spectrum of activities such as promoting a green economy, digital infrastructure, and innovation. Perhaps most importantly, it aims to promote and foster cross-cultural exchanges that will help to develop and maintain a more peaceful world.

For many people, it is understandable that China has for decades been talking up the notion of Chinese-style modernization which embraces inclusive growth, peaceful co-existence, diversity, and harmony between nature and humans. Chinese modernization is nothing less than the outward manifestation of China’s inward search for a new kind of future.

This future blends China's long, rich history and deep cultural and civilizational roots with modern China's openness and willingness to embrace new technologies, entrepreneurship, international cooperation, and the rule of law to foster a stable business and social environment. This future will benefit not only the Chinese people but all nations for many centuries to come, especially the global business communities.

Any global CEO worth his or her salt must look honestly and unflinchingly into the future. He or she must step outside old habits that were shaped during an era that is about to fade away and accept a new multipolar world. All CEOs will need to devise new strategies, create new alliances, and write new playbooks if they and their companies are to survive – or even prosper – amid the seismic changes now underway.