The British Journal Asia House Insights Publishes A Signed Article by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming Entitled Openness and Cooperation is the Only Road Leading to Prosperity and Development in Asia and the World

       近日，英国知名智库“亚洲之家”在其期刊《亚洲之家洞察》（Asia House Insights）发表驻英国大使刘晓明题为《开放合作是亚洲和世界繁荣发展的必由之路》的署名文章。全文如下：

　　亚洲是当今世界最富活力、最具潜力的地区之一，也是全球经济增长的重要引擎。“中国奇迹”是“亚洲奇迹”的重要组成部分。改革开放40年来，中国不仅自身发生翻天覆地的变化，而且通过同亚洲国家深化合作谱写了地区繁荣发展的新篇章。中国与亚洲国家命运紧密相连，利益融合日益加深，中国已成为16个亚洲国家的最大贸易伙伴。中国与亚洲发展的历史经验证明，开放带来进步，封闭必然落后，开放合作是实现发展的必由之路。

Recently, Asia House Insights, a journal of the renowned British think tank Asia House published a signed article by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming entitled Openness and Cooperation is the Only Road Leading to Prosperity and Development in Asia and the World. The full text is as follows:

Asia, with its economic dynamism and potential, has been an important engine for world economic growth. China is an important part of this "Asia miracle". Over the past 40 years since reform and opening up, China has not only made tremendous progress at home but also deepened cooperation with other Asian countries to write a new chapter for regional prosperity and development. With China becoming the largest trading partner of 16 Asian countries, the interests of China and Asia are increasingly integrated and the future of the two are ever more closely shared.

　　要始终坚持开放的区域主义。近年来，亚洲经济一体化蓬勃发展，区域和跨区域合作方兴未艾。亚洲国家在加强自身合作的同时，还致力于同其他地区和国际组织的全方位合作。各地区、各类别的自由贸易安排都要遵循开放、透明和包容的原则，才能为全球贸易创造更加自由和便利的环境。中国正积极深化同亚洲国家双多边经贸关系，推动“区域全面经济伙伴关系协定”谈判，加快与有关国家和地区商签自贸协定和投资协定。作为面向世界的公共产品，“一带一路”具有鲜明的平等性、开放性和普惠性。“一带一路”不是封闭的“小圈子”，而是开放的“大家庭”；不是中国的“独角戏”，而是各国的“大合唱”。2019年中国将举办第二届“一带一路”国际合作高峰论坛，我们真诚欢迎各方积极参会、建言献策，共同把“一带一路”建设好，更好惠及亚洲和世界发展。

The development of China and the rest of Asia is a story of how openness brings progress, and openness and cooperation is the only road leading to prosperity. Therefore, Asian countries should stay committed to open regionalism. In recent years, deepening economic integration and thriving regional cooperation in Asia, coupled with extra-regional cooperation across the board with outside countries and international organisations, have prompted negotiations of all types of free trade arrangements and required them to be open, transparent, inclusive and conducive to trade liberalisation and facilitation.

To increase bilateral and multilateral trade with other countries in Asia, China is advancing the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and on free trade and investment agreements. China has also offered the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a public good for the world. The BRI follows the principles of equality, openness and inclusiveness. It aims at creating not an exclusive coterie but a big family that is open to all countries. It is not China's one-man-show but a chorus of all its partners. Next year, the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be held, which will be an opportunity for all willing partners to share their ideas about how to make the BRI work better and deliver more benefits to Asia and the whole world.