Editor's Note: Keywords to Understand China: the Belt and Road Initiative is a selection of "China Keywords" entries included in an eponymous multilingual platform to help readers better understand China's B&R Initiative. It is one of the major projects implemented by the China International Publishing Group and the China Academy of Translation.
Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation
The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program was established in 1996 by the Asian Development Bank and upgraded to ministerial level in 2002.
It has grown into a major mechanism for economic cooperation in Central Asia, with an institutional framework of the Ministerial Conference, the Senior Officials Meeting, coordinating committees in priority areas, and regional business roundtables.
CAREC envisions accelerated growth and poverty reduction through cooperation among member countries in transport, trade, energy and other key sectors.
CAREC countries include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Asian Development Bank, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Programme, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Islamic Development Bank, and some bilateral assistance organizations in developed countries have supported projects as partners under the CAREC program.
Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries
A mechanism for cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries, commonly known as "16+1," has been established to facilitate collaboration between China and the 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries on issues of common concern.
The 17 countries agree to respect each other's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, broaden understanding of each other's approach to development, and work to realize goals under the "16+1" framework in line with their own specific needs and priorities and based on equality, consultation, mutual complementarity, and cooperation for mutual benefit.
An innovative framework for subregional cooperation, the "16+1" opens new avenues for increased engagement between traditionally friendly countries. It is a platform that while focusing on South-South cooperation, also embraces South-North cooperation.
Thanks to the joint endeavors of the participants, the "16+1" has grown into an omni-dimensional, wide-ranging, and multi-channel framework that is harvesting fruitful results.
A more effective alignment between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the "16+1" framework will create a super engine for the train of China-CEE cooperation, expand the channels of investment and trade for the countries along the route, and bring benefits to both China and the CEE countries.
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was formally inaugurated at its first Ministerial Conference in October 2000 in Beijing, upon the joint initiative of China and Africa.
It aims to further strengthen friendly cooperation between China and African countries to meet the challenges of economic globalization in search of common prosperity.
The FOCAC promotes understanding, consensus-building, friendship and collaboration through consultation on the basis of equality.
FOCAC members include China, the 51 African states that have established diplomatic relations with China, and the Commission of the African Union. The FOCAC Ministerial Conference is held every three years, and to date six conferences have been convened.
At the opening of the FOCAC Summit in Johannesburg (South Africa) on December 4, 2015, President Xi Jinping announced that the China-African new-type strategic partnership would be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
He also proposed 10 plans to boost cooperation with Africa in the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.
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