"Let us join hands to sow the seeds of cooperation, harvest the fruits of development, bring greater happiness to our people and make our world a better place for all! “On April 26, President Xi Jinping's opening speech rang out from the media center of the China National Convention Center, where reporters from all over the world gathered enthusiastically to spread these resounding words to every corner of the world.

From the raising of the “Belt and Road” initiative (BRI) by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to the First Belt and Road (B&R) Forum for International Cooperation in 2017 and now the Second B&R Forum, in about 6 years the BRI has evolved from high-level plan-making to intensive and meticulous implementation. In the past six years, China Post has responded positively by serving the overall situation, boosting the high-quality development of the BRI, implementing the connectivity requirements, giving full play to its role as the main force of the industry, and attaining many achievements in serving the BRI. Compared with the last Forum, this one is much larger in terms of the scale and the number of participants. It is obvious that more and more countries are participating in the BRI, more and more opportunities are emerging in the process of intensive implementation of the BRI. More and more contribution will be made to the better future of the BRI.

Spread culture and make innovations

The interactive area of intangible cultural heritage is an extremely popular place at the media center of the China National Convention Center. Kit from Philippine News Agency is trying to draw a Chinese painting at her spare time. She said she has often seen "brush paintings" in Chinese movies, so this time she would take the chance to try it for herself.

This is the first time for "Brazil 247" reporter Helio to come to China. He will be staying in China for five months. During his stay, he would like to have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Chinese culture, economy, science and technology, and send his reports in Portuguese back home. "But what interests me most is Chinese culture, so most of my reports will be on this topic."

Another popular place in the media center is the temporary post office set up by Beijing Postal Branch. The green postbox is very eye-catching in the mainly blue-colored media center, and has attracted many domestic and foreign media to focus their camera on it. Postal service is like a universal language of the world. You don't need to introduce it. People know it at a glimpse of the postbox. The temporary post office is like a cultural output window. The stamps, postcards, and stamp albums there are all transmitting Chinese culture to reporters from all over the world. “Every time I introduce the philatelic products to the foreign guests, I feel as if I am introducing Chinese culture rather than the products. The postal service is a window of culture”, said Jia Xiaohan, a staff of the marketing department of Beijing Postal branch who has been appointed here to serve the foreign guests.

"I am a super fan of the post!" Xie Ping, a Russian and reporter from China Radio International said. He instantly attracted the reporter’s attention from among the many people purchasing philatelic products. He said that every time he went to report an important meeting, he would buy a lot of philatelic products. "My grandfather has collected many philatelic products of the Soviet period. Influenced by my grandfather, I started collecting stamps at a very early age. The quickest way to understand a country’ culture is to know its philatelic products, because they are the embodiment of a country's culture." Influenced by Xie Ping, his colleague Xiaoyin also devotes herself to them now, and purchasing philatelic products has become her routine practice.

With the establishment and development of the Belt and Road Studies Network and the Belt and Road News Alliance, more representatives from the B&R countries will come to China for exchanges in the next five years. Cultural exchange is essential for better connectivity. As a display window of Chinese culture, China Post will attach much importance to the creation and innovation of quality cultural products in the future.

Pave the way for a better future

Connectivity is the key to the BRI, while infrastructure is the cornerstone of connectivity.

"If you want to get rich, build roads first." On April 25, at the Thematic Forum on Infrastructure Connectivity hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport, Cambodian Minister of State and Minister of Public Works and Transportation Sun Chanthol said in his speech, “In Cambodia, people will say, where there is a road, there is hope.” More than 170 guests from relevant countries, international organizations and companies from home and abroad and related institutions attended the forum.

If there is hope, there must be not only a road but also a messenger to convey hope. As an important part of the infrastructure connectivity of the BRI, the postal infrastructures have brought hope for peace, prosperity and development to local people. The postal industry is a modern leading industry that promotes both the transformation of distribution means and consumption upgrading. It is a bridge and bond for the B&R connectivity and plays an important role in promoting international exchanges as well as economic and trade development.

In recent years, China post has made great efforts to promote infrastructure connectivity and build the B&R distribution network. Take the mail (express mail) transportation through China-Europe freight trains as an example. At present, outgoing mail transportation has gradually achieved large-scale normalized operation; incoming mail transportation has made a breakthrough from zero. Important progress has been made in multilateral coordination. The mail transportation by rail can be routed to 24 countries. The first international mail processing center at railway port in China has been built in the western modern logistics park in Chongqing. The test of express mail transportation via China-Europe freight trains has been officially launched. New progress has also been made in international standards and collaboration.

At the forum, more than 30 speakers expressed their own views. After the forum, the participants offered many good suggestions.

Serving the “Belt and Road” initiative has brought many opportunities to China’s postal industry. "In the next step, China's postal industry will continue to vigorously expand overseas markets and accelerate international development. Taking serving cross-border e-commerce and the overseas development of domestic enterprises as an opportunity, China's postal industry will connect with the overseas logistics systems and build a global distribution network that is based on the neighboring regions, covering the B&R countries and oriented to the whole world, so as to further enhance the international competitiveness,” Ma Junsheng, Director General of the State Post Bureau, told the media.

Liu Aili, Chairman of China Post Group, said that China Post would continue to serve the overall situation, help boost the high-quality development of the BRI, focus on promoting cooperation in international business and the financial sector, so as to forge its role as the “national team” and exert its influence as the main force of the industry.

Good opportunity also means fierce competition. Then how can China Post better participate in the BRI? To this question, Zhao Xiaomin, founder and CEO of Guanshuo Capital, and professional consultant of express industry, suggested that China Post should integrate domestic and foreign resources, and exert its inherent advantages. It should use its unique resource platform and strengthen the alliance with excellent enterprises. “Participating in the BRI, China Post has great potential, huge space and irreplaceable position.”

At the Thematic Forum, the green sustainable development proposed by the UN Under-Secretary-General Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana struck a chord. China post has responded with practical actions. It has launched a Green Post initiative, going green in such aspects as packaging, finance, transportation and philately. China post will also contribute to the green and sustainable development of the BRI in the future.

“I thought there were too many differences between China and Brazil, but as the interview went deeper, I’ve found more and more similarities. The people of both countries have the same pursuit of good food and better life.” Helio told the reporter. The three-day Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation successfully closed. The beautiful vision is gradually unfolding. There are opportunities as well as challenges. So it is necessary not only to cooperate sincerely in good times but also share the rough times. As the "national team" of the industry, China post has the responsibility and strengths to promote the high-quality development of the BRI and deliver a better future for people around the world.