by Xinhua writers Zhu Sheng, Lian Zhen
MUNICH, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative is beneficial to all countries and regions involved, a renowned German legal expert told Xinhua.
The initiative, which brings everybody together, is "really fantastic," said Thilo Ketterer, a public auditor and partner at the German professional service firm Roedl & Partner, in an exclusive interview.
According to him, many projects relating to the Belt and Road Initiative will bring benefit to the participating countries and regions, because each infrastructure project will foster their own local development.
"If we look at the projects in total, they will be beneficial both to China and receiving countries and regions," noted Ketterer, who is responsible for the company's business in East Asia.
"So, I personally am still convinced that the Belt and Road Initiative is a win-win partnership," he said.
When China started the initiative in 2013, Ketterer thought it was a great idea. "After the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in 2017, China did it by turning an idea into reality," he said, adding that hundreds of projects have been on the table.
Ketterer, who had lived in China for ten years, has followed the idea of the Belt and Road Initiative from the very beginning in 2013 and took part in the first BRF.
Ketterer said that a lot of countries, which are not located along the Belt and Road routes, also want to join the initiative because the China-proposed initiative brings in both jobs and investment.
Ketterer believed that after years of development, the initiative is a grown-up, not a child anymore. It now comprehensively incorporates industry, technology, education, environmental protection, cultural and legal elements.
"I believe that this kind of development is an evolution. It will continue," Ketterer said, adding "I also strongly believe that the second BRF in Beijing will accelerate the speed of evolution."
Since its launch in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative has brought countries and regions together through enhanced trade, infrastructure development, investment, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. A total of 152 countries and international organizations have signed cooperation documents with China tied to the initiative over the past six years, official statistics show.
The Initiative is, as Ketterer said, "the largest infrastructural, technological, industrial, cultural, educational, environmental and philosophical initiative in human history, bringing the whole world together in a peaceful manner."
