ZAGREB, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), held in Beijing on Oct. 17-18 and attended by leaders from across the world, is a confirmation that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is extremely necessary in today's world, Mladen Plese, a Croatian political analyst and an expert on Asia, told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.
"China's BRI is one of the most significant initiatives in the world for several reasons," Plese said. It affirms China as a country that wants to share the knowledge and successes of its economy with others, but with no intention or aim of exerting political pressure on other countries.
Secondly, through the BRI, everyone wins and no one loses, and thirdly, it shows how China cares about multilateralism, which paves the way for the future of the world, prevents conflicts and gives every country in the world a chance to develop, Plese said.
The BRI, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping ten years ago, stands for peace, development, cooperation and prosperity, Plese said, adding that the initiative has proved that China is not only focused on itself, but that it wants other countries to develop as well.
The numerous crises in the world have made the BRI more important than ever. "The BRI is a real beacon that prevents conflicts and stands for cooperation in which everyone wins and no one loses," he said.
Plese cited the Peljesac Bridge and the Senj Wind Farm, two major BRI projects in Croatia that have been the results of the mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and Croatia.
Through the two projects, "Croatia has directly benefited from being included in the BRI, and some other important projects are also being prepared," Plese said, noting that the Peljesac Bridge connects Croatia's lands for the first time and has greatly facilitated travel, tourism and transportation in southern Croatia, while through the Senj Wind Farm, local residents can now use green and renewable energy.
The 2.4-km-long Peljesac Bridge, constructed by a Chinese consortium led by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), was opened for traffic on July 26 and the Senj Wind Farm, built by China's Norinco International and inaugurated in December 2021, produces about 530 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green electricity each year and reduces Croatia's carbon dioxide emissions by about 460,000 tonnes per year.
"Croatia has recognized the significance of the Chinese initiative and the general opinion is that cooperation should continue," Plese said. ■
