I. The New Pattern of Global Trade

After the financial crisis in 2008, global trade entered a period of transition, with the major economies carrying out structural adjustment to seek economic recovery and development. The overall pattern of trade is reflected in the gradual slowdown of global trade growth and the gradual rise of a new model of trade characterized by new technologies and new services. With its economy shifting into a new normal, China has driven deeper economic restructuring, and its position in the global trade chain is also rising, moving from the low end to the medium and high end. The Belt and Road Initiative is a new guide to global trade and investment proposed against the background of this new global trade pattern and its domestic economic transformation. It focuses on optimization and facilitation of investment and trade, cooperation in industrial investment with nations along the Belt and Road, and transformation and upgrading of industrial structure, with the ultimate goal of realizing common prosperity.