The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (also known as the Belt and Road Forum or BaRF) is an international political and economical forum of the

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 ...

2017

The first event was on 14 and 15 May 2017 in Beijing, and drew 29 foreign heads of state and government and representatives from more than 130 countries and 70 international organizations.

Agenda and activities

The purpose of the forum is described by Wang Xiaotao, deputy head of the

National Development and Reform Commission The National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China (NDRC), formerly State Planning Commission and State Development Planning Commission, is a macroeconomic management agency under the State Council, which has br ...

, in an interview with Xinhua as building "a more open and efficient international cooperation platform; a closer, stronger partnership network; and to push for a more just, reasonable and balanced international governance system."

Western media Western media is the mass media of the Western world. During the Cold War, Western media contrasted with Soviet media. Western media has gradually expanded into developing countries (often, non-Western countries) around the world. History T ...

coverage portrays the forum in a similar way with

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

referring to the event under the headline "China's new world order" and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' running the article "Globalization 2.0: How China's two-day summit aims to shape a new world order". The forum will be a platform for working out action plans for implementation of the initiative in the areas of infrastructure, energy and resources, production capacity,

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

and investment and identification of major projects. It is also intended to be an opportunity for the signing of cooperation agreements with countries and international organizations in the areas of financial cooperation mechanism; a cooperation platform for science, technology and environmental protection; and enhanced exchanges and training of talent and financing agreements for backing projects.

Attendance

Before the beginning of the Belt and Road international forum

Heads of state and government People's Republic of China (Host): * President

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

* Premier

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affai ...

**Vice-Premier

Zhang Gaoli Zhang Gaoli or Chang Kao-li ( zh, 张高丽; ; born 1 November 1946) is a retired Chinese politician. He served as the senior Vice Premier of the State Council between 2013 and 2018 and as a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo S ...

The forum is attended by 29 foreign heads of state and government and their respective delegations: * Prime Minister

Beata Szydło Beata Maria Szydło (, née Kusińska , 15 April 1963) is a Polish politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. A member of Law and Justice (PiS), she previously served as Prime Minister of Poland from 2015 ...

of Poland * Prime Minister

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between 20 ...

of Hungary * Prime Minister

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Вучић, ; born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as the president of Serbia since 2017, and as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012. Vučić served ...

of Serbia * Prime Minister

Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...

of Greece * Prime Minister

Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...

of Italy * Prime Minister

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...

of Spain * Prime Minister

Hailemariam Desalegn Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe ( amh, ኃይለማሪያም ደሳለኝ ቦሼ; born 19 July 1965) is an Ethiopian politician who served as prime minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018. He also previously served as deputy prime minister and Minister ...

of Ethiopia * Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

of Pakistan * Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

of Sri Lanka * Prime Minister

Jargaltulga Erdenebat Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat () is a Mongolian politician and a member of the Mongolian People's Party. He was the 29th Prime Minister of Mongolia from 7 July 2016 to 4 October 2017. Biography Erdenebat was born on 17 July 1974 in Mandal sum, Selenge ...

of Mongolia * Prime Minister

Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...

of Cambodia * Prime Minister

Mahathir bin Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...

of Malaysia * Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama of Fiji * State Counsellor

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...

of Myanmar * President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

of the Philippines * President

Trần Đại Quang Trần Đại Quang (12 October 1956 – 21 September 2018) was a Vietnamese politician and former police general who served as the eighth President of Vietnam from 2 April 2016 until his death in 2018. Trần Đại Quang was elected to the post ...

of Vietnam * President

Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elite ...

of Indonesia * President

Bounnhang Vorachith Bounnhang Vorachit ( lo, ບຸນຍັງ ວໍລະຈິດ; born 15 August 1938) is a Laotian politician. He was previously General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos from 2016 to 2021. Early life Bou ...

of Laos * President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

of Kenya * President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

of Russia * President

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian language, Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian language, Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лука� ...

of Belarus * President

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...

of Kazakhstan * President

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (Uzbek Latin: ''Shavkat Miromonovich (Miromon o‘g‘li) Mirziyoyev'', Uzbek Cyrillic: Шавкат Миромонович (Миромон ўғли) Мирзиёев ; born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician ...

of Uzbekistan * President

Almazbek Atambayev Almazbek Sharshen uluu Atambayev ( ky, Алмазбек Шаршен уулу Атамбаев, translit=Almazbek Şarşen uulu Atambayev; born 17 September 1956) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 1 December 2 ...

of Kyrgyzstan * President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

of Turkey * President

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Czec ...

of the Czech Republic * President

Doris Leuthard Doris Leuthard (born 10 April 1963) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2006 to 2018. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she was elected as President of the Swiss ...

of Switzerland * President

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previou ...

of Argentina * President

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

of Chile Heads of international organizations *

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Antonio Guterres Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

World Bank President,

Jim Yong Kim Jim Yong Kim (; born December 8, 1959), also known as Kim Yong (/金墉), is an American physician and anthropologist who served as the 12th president of the World Bank from 2012 to 2019. A global health leader, Kim was formerly the chair of ...

* Managing director of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

Christine Lagarde Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde (; née Lallouette, ; born 1 January 1956) is a French politician and lawyer who has been serving as President of the European Central Bank since 2019. She previously served as the 11th managing director of the ...

* Director-General of the

International Renewable Energy Agency The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organis ...

, Adnan Z. Amin * Executive Chairman of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

Klaus Schwab Klaus Martin Schwab (; born 30 March 1938) is a German engineer, economist and founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He has acted as the WEF's chairman since founding the organisation in 1971. Life Schwab was born to Eugen Wilhelm Schw ...

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to: * Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer * Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Peter ...

* Secretary General of the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

, Enzo Quattrociocche *

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

Secretary General

Jürgen Stock Jürgen Stock (born October 4, 1959) is a German police officer and academic. He has served as secretary general of Interpol since November 7, 2014. Biography Stock was born on October 4, 1959, in Wetzlar, Germany. He joined the Kriminalpolizei i ...

* Director General of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

Roberto Azevêdo Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo (; born 3 October 1957) is a Brazilian career diplomat who served as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2013 until 2020. Since 2020, he has been Executive Vice President and Director of Corpo ...

* Director-General of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Irina Bokova Irina Georgieva Bokova ( bg, Ирина Георгиева Бокова; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and the former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, a ...

* Secretary General of

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

Sergei Lebedev * Director General of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

Margaret Chan Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, (born 21 August 1947) is a Chinese-Canadian physician, who served as the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) delegating the People's Republic of China from 2006–2017. Chan previously served a ...

Ministerial level The online magazine ''

The Diplomat ''The Diplomat'' is an international online news magazine covering politics, society, and culture in the Indo-Pacific region. It is based in Washington, D.C. It was originally an Australian bi-monthly print magazine, founded by Minh Bui Jones ...

'' documents the following incomplete list of ministerial level attendees. * : Unspecified minister-level delegation * : Trade Minister

Steven Ciobo Steven Michele Ciobo ( ) (born 29 May 1974) is a retired Australian politician who represented the Division of Moncrieff in the House of Representatives from the 2001 federal election until his retirement at the 2019 election. He was a membe ...

* : Economy Minister

Shahin Mustafayev , image = Shahin Mammadov in 2016.jpg , office = First Deputy Prime Minister , term_start = 22 October 2018 , predecessor = , successor = , office1 = Minister of Economic ...

* : Unspecified minister-level delegation * : Secretary for Strategic Affairs Hussein Ali Kalout * : Minister of External Economic Relations Kim Yong-jae * : Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil * : Parliament Secretary General

Klaus Welle Klaus Welle (born ) is a German politician who has served as Secretary General of the European Parliament since 15 March 2009. He was previously Head of the Office (chef de cabinet) of the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poetteri ...

* : Minister of Transport and Communications

Anne Berner Anne-Catherine Berner (born 16 January 1964) is a Swiss-Finnish business executive, board professional, and the former Minister of Transport and Communications. In 2015, Berner was elected Member of the Finnish Parliament from the electoral distr ...

* : Former Prime Minister, Member of the French Senate

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...

* : Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy

Brigitte Zypries Brigitte Zypries (born 16 November 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Between 2017 and 2018, she served as Minister for Economics and Energy in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel; she was the fir ...

* : Minister of Economy and Finance

Ali Tayebnia Ali Tayebnia ( fa, علی طیب‌نیا, born 5 April 1960) is an Iranian academic, economist and former minister of finance. He was designated by President Hassan Rouhani for the position of finance minister on 4 August 2013 and was confirmed ...

* : unspecificed minister-level delegation * : Minister of the Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber * : Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed * : Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara * : Science and Innovation Minister

Paul Goldsmith Paul Goldsmith (born October 2, 1925) is a former USAC and NASCAR driver. He is an inductee of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and the USAC Hall of Fame. Later in life Goldsmith became a pilot and, flying ...

* : Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti * : Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment Gratiela Gavrilescu * : Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources

Khalid A. Al-Falih Khalid A. Al-Falih ( ar, خالد الفالح '; born 1960) is Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia since 25 February 2020. He served as Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia and chairman of Saudi Aramco. He also has previously served as the ...

* : Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance

Lawrence Wong Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai ( zh, c=黄循财, p=Huáng Xúncái; born 18 December 1972) is a Singaporean politician, economist and former civil servant who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2022 alongside Heng Swee Keat ...

* : National Assembly member Park Byeoung-seug * : unspecificed minister-level delegation * : Minister of Foreign Affairs

Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai ( th, ดอน ปรมัตถ์วินัย, , ; born 25 January 1950) is a Thai diplomat serving as foreign minister of Thailand (2020). Early life and education Don attended Wat Suthiwararam and Suankularb Wittayalai ...

, Minister of Transportation

Arkhom Termpittayapaisith Arkhom Termpittayapaisith ( th, อาคม เติมพิทยาไพสิฐ; born 25 July 1956) is a Thai civil servant and politician who served as Minister of Transport in the Cabinet of Thailand from 19 August 2015 to 10 July 2019 ...

, Minister of Commerce Apiradi Tantraporn, Minister of Digital for Economy and Society Pichet Durongkaveroj, and Minister of Science and Technology Atchaka Sibunruang * : Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young * : Culture Minister Mohamed Zine El-Abidine * : Unspecified ministerial-level delegation * : Minister of State and Group CEO of ADNOC Dr.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber ( ar, سلطان أحمد الجابر, born August 31, 1973) is a Cabinet Member and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates, Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co ...

* : Chancellor of the Exchequer

Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019, Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, and Defence Secretary from 2011 to 2014. ...

* : delegation led by White House adviser

Matt Pottinger Matthew Forbes Pottinger (born 1973) is an American former journalist and U.S. Marine Corps officer who served as the United States deputy national security advisor from September 22, 2019, until January 7, 2021. Previously the Asia director o ...

. * : delegation led by

Toshihiro Nikai is a Japanese politician for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the leader of the LDP Shisuikai faction (informally called the Nikai faction), who served as the Secretary-General of the LDP from 2016 to 2021. He was previously the Minister ...

, secretary-general of the ruling party Liberal Democratic Party.

Venues

In 2017, the events were held at National Convention Center in the urban Chaoyang District and Yanqi Lake International Convention Center and Jixian hall at Yanqi Lake Conference Center in the outer suburb

Huairou District Huairou District () is situated in northern Beijing about from the city center (about a 1½ to 2 hour drive). History In 1995 during the United Nation's 4th World's Women Conference in Beijing, the Civil Society community was forced to meet in t ...

2019

A second Belt and Road Forum was held from 25 to 27 April 2019 in Beijing.

References

External links

* {{Foreign relations of China Belt and Road Initiative Foreign relations of China 2017 in China 2010s in Beijing Diplomatic conferences in China 21st-century diplomatic conferences