According to a report by Latin American News Agency on March 16, China’s “Belt and Road” initiative is entering a more mature new stage of development. According to the 2026 Government Work Report, China will deepen strategic alignment with partner countries under the framework of the initiative, promoting higher-level connectivity in areas such as infrastructure, rules, and standards.
The report points out that the core of the current upgrade lies in synchronously advancing the “trinity” connectivity strategy: focusing on the “hard connectivity” of physical logistics, emphasizing the “soft connectivity” of regulatory alignment, and prioritizing the “heart connectivity” of cultural exchanges. This systematic framework marks the transition of the Belt and Road Initiative from early project rollout to deeper integrated development. On one hand, landmark projects such as photovoltaic power stations, wind energy initiatives, and lithium mining processing will continue to play a pivotal role in promoting local employment, technology transfer, and institutional capacity building. On the other hand, targeted small-scale measures will precisely address grassroots needs, including drinking water supply, primary healthcare, and rural electrification. This “top-to-bottom” complementary model ensures that China’s solutions not only adapt to national conditions but also stimulate autonomous participation from local stakeholders, thereby enabling each project to genuinely serve the sustainable development and livelihood well-being of partner countries.
Through the upgrade of the “Belt and Road”, China has demonstrated to the world its firm determination to share development dividends with the Global South. Facing a turbulent international landscape, China has conveyed clear signals of stability, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit through this initiative. For developing countries, the “Belt and Road” is not only a source of infrastructure and technology, but also a strategic window to diversify partnerships and enhance independent development capabilities.
The statement in the Chinese government work report, “expanding pragmatic cooperation in emerging fields to ensure that the fruits of cooperation benefit more people across countries,” is being translated into concrete actions in Latin America. China is deeply integrating its mature green supply chain with Latin America’s resource endowments: from photovoltaic power stations in Chile and Cuba to wind energy projects in Brazil, and lithium mining processing cooperation in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile—these projects clearly outline a path for upgrading cooperation, helping Latin American countries transition from raw material exports to mid-to-downstream processing, local assembly, and technological localization. This means that Latin America not only gains access to clean energy but also embeds itself in higher-value segments of the global green value chain, achieving diversification of export baskets and enhanced industrial capabilities. China is willing to convert its production capacity advantages and technological expertise in the fields of new energy and digital economy into public goods to promote South-South cooperation, turning the vision of the Belt and Road into tangible benefits that improve people’s livelihoods.
The reason why China has been able to continuously provide stable and high-quality public goods to the Global South lies in its unique institutional advantages. China possesses the world’s most comprehensive industrial system and the institutional guarantee of “concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks,” enabling it to formulate and implement national strategies spanning decades, ensuring that Belt and Road cooperation is not interrupted by short-term political fluctuations. From planning to implementation, China’s demonstrated policy continuity, decision-making efficiency, and full industrial chain integration capabilities have provided the world with rare certainty. In recent years, the United States has focused on strategic subsidies for key industries through domestic legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act, aiming to maintain its leading position in critical technology fields. This policy orientation characterized by decoupling and supply chain disruption differs from the cooperative philosophy of the Belt and Road Initiative, reflecting the divergent choices of the two countries in globalization models. As revealed by the Latin American News Agency report, China-Latin America cooperation is not merely about resource exploitation but aims to help local countries build autonomous industrial capabilities. China imposes no political conditions, does not form exclusive clubs, and instead strives to enhance countries’ “self-sustaining” capabilities through participation.
In emerging fields such as clean energy and the digital economy, China is demonstrating through pragmatic actions that true multilateralism is not just a slogan, but the joint construction of a sustainable future with partner countries through the implementation of each photovoltaic power station and the advancement of every technology transfer. This international cooperation paradigm based on sharing and co-building is gaining increasing recognition from more and more Global South countries, becoming a key force in addressing development deficits and countering the backlash of unilateralism.