The Center on “One Belt and One Road” Cooperation and Development CollaborativeInnovation held its Academic Committee inaugural meeting and its first academic seminar in Beijing on July 18. Ou Xiaoli, Inspector of Western Development Division of National Development and Reform Commission and Vice Chairman of the Center, Xu Qingsen, Deputy Director of Social Sciences Division of Ministry of Education, Lu Dadao and Zhou Chenghu, academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sun Jiulin, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, and over 50 leaders, experts and scholars from ministries, key collaborative units as well as relevant universities and research institutions were present at the meeting. Luo Weidong, rotating Director of Management Committee and Vice President of Zhejiang University, gave a report on the construction of the Center. In addition, the meeting examined and adopted regulations and member recommendation list of Academic Committee. Three directors of the Committee were also elected, namely, Wang Guiguo, senior professor in liberal arts of Zhejiang University, Rong Xinjiang, professor of School of History at Peking University, and Lu Dadao, researcher in Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources of Chinese Academy of Sciences and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Ou Xiaoli pointed out that “One Belt and One Road” strategy is a top design of China's opening up and an initiative act in promoting international political and economic governance reform. He hoped that the Center will focus on practical problems in the construction of “six economic corridors” and provide intellectual support for the implementation of “One Belt and One Road” strategy.

Xu Qingsen held that innovation should be made on collaborative mechanism to solve deep, long-term and institutionalized cooperation problems among units and to tackle key issues by the collaborative team.