First launched by China in 2013, The Belt and Road Initiative (“BRI”) advocates the development of the international Economic Belt along “the land-based Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road”, connecting the countries throughout Euro-Asia and beyond.

Based on the principles of “consultation and cooperation for shared benefits”, the initiative fosters the regional economic cooperation between China and the BRI countries, especially in the development of infrastructure. A multitude of railways, ports, airport, highways and bridges projects have been planned, constructed or even completed since, which further stimulate the successive diversified development of the countries concerned.

This being the eighth years since the launching of BRI. The international forum, which is organized by The Hong Kong Institute of Architects (“HKIA”), will have  construction experts and scholars from Mainland China where this initiative originated, as well as people from the government, the business sector and the professionals from various BRI countries, to share their valuable experience in the implementation of the BRI infrastructure projects: to review the challenges encountered during the cooperation, to exchange their observations and to explore the way forward for future collaboration in the post pandemic era.

At the same time, this is an opportunity to explore the role of Hong Kong serving as the “bridge” and “super-connector” for BRI.

Since early nineties, Hong Kong’s architectural and construction professionals had already gone abroad, providing consultancy services for many construction and development projects in regions such as Mainland China, South-East Asia and Middle-East. Their performances are well recognized internationally for the adept skills and the professional knowledge, the profound project management experience in the entire development cycle, as well as a high quality of service.

Given the familiarity with China and the global business and development environment, as well as the transcultural communication experience accumulated over the years, the architects and the construction professionals in Hong Kong could contribute significantly to the continuous implementation of BRI. This will facilitate the forging of a long lasting development partnership between China and the BRI countries, while addressing the real needs of all parties concerned for mutual benefits.