Preface

During his visits to countries in Central Asia and Southeast Asia in 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed major cooperation initiatives including the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, which endowed the ancient Silk Road with fresh significance.

The Belt and Road Initiative (hereinafter BRI) is of great significance to optimizing the global governance system and promoting world economic development. In the current pattern of globalization, development at the cost of sacrificing other countries' interests has caused many economic, social, ecological, ethnic and religious problems. The BRI sticks to innovation-driven development to develop a vigorous growth model, coordination to develop an open and win-win development model, advancement with the times to develop a just and rational governance model, and fairness and inclusiveness to develop a balanced and commonly beneficial development model. The BRI will be more beneficial to the exertion of positive effects of economic globalization, more conducive to countries in selecting appropriate paths and paces that fit their integration into economic globalization, more advantageous to each person in enjoying economic globalization benefits, and of greater benefit to promoting the development of a new mode of globalization.

To better serve the implementation of the BRI, the RDI Project, pursuant to the requirements of the central government for new-type think tanks and with the support of relevant ministries and commissions, including the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), was initiated in April 2015, aiming at promoting BRI international cooperation and research. Since its setup three years ago, RDI has contributed great efforts to areas including think tank research, international cooperation

and promotion of BRI construction on the problem-targeted, demand-driven, and project-guided principle. By far, it has established a well-structured think tank network, an international network and a corporate network, which endows itself with the advantages and basis for further supporting the construction of an international think tank for the BRI.

    RDI has established a sound think tank network that has brought together experts and scholars from various fields such as domestic and foreign enterprises, think tanks and industry associations, focused on international hot topics and issues of central concern in the field of international humanitarian and development, given full play to important functions such as consulting, theoretical innovation, public opinion guidance, social service and public diplomacy and organized high-level exchanges, think tank symposiums, capacity-building and special studies. Encompassing major issues like BRI construction, international humanitarian affairs and international bilateral and multilateral cooperation, RDI has developed and submitted high-quality reports to the central and local governments on the basis of elaborate studies and investigations. Its reports and policy suggestions have been effectively converted into policies and measures by relevant ministries, commissions and local governments, which have played a significant guiding role in the going global for Chinese enterprises.

    RDI has established a sound international network and formed a service system integrating political parties, governments, parliaments (NPC), think tanks, enterprises, industry associations, financial institutions, social organizations, media outlets and international multilateral/bilateral organizations and other strategic partners and supporting organizations in and outside China. With its Strategy Committee, the dual-chairman system of key countries and the international branch networks as the

organizational support and the bilateral and multilateral high-level exchanges as important links, RDI has made the voice of China heard on major international occasions and built important platforms for international cooperation.

    RDI has established a sound corporate network integrating many backbone enterprises or institutions (groups) in the sectors of energy, manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery, information, service, culture, logistics, finance, infrastructure, pharmaceutical, real estate, financial, parks and zones, mining, chambers of commerce, training and so on. By establishing seven service teams (i.e., legal service, policy research, technological standard, information service, financial support, culture and brand, and capacity building), pooling government, enterprise and industry resources and organizing

enterprise to go out, RDI has provided systematic services and support for enterprises to substantially participate in the BRI.

RDI has spared no effort to exercise the influence as a high-end think tank. China Analysis-A Hundred Think Tanks Bloom in China, a research report released by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in August 2016 takes RDI as an example for construction of new think tanks in China and states that “RDI has established systematic mechanisms for dialogues, exchanges and cooperation". RDI was selected as the 2016 Excellent Think Tank for the Belt and Road Initiative through a systematic and open information analysis by the BRI 100 at the end of December 2016. In February 2017, RDI joined the BRI Think Tank Alliance Council organized by the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee and became a member of the council.

Through its work in the past three years, RDI has formed a structured multinational and cross-sector platform that provides professional, constructive and forward-looking advice on policy for BRI implementation. RDI is currently moving in the direction of globalization and internationalization.

I sincerely hope that RDI will join hands with counterparts of other countries to jointly conduct research in major areas relating to the BRI, disseminate cooperation concepts, learn from each other, make constant innovations and contribute our wisdom and strength to promoting global economic development.

Secretary of Party Leadership Group and

President of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Weiguang WANG

December 28,2017