Too Much is at Stake—It Must Succeed!

At this moment, the attention of every man and woman who grasps their own personal responsibility for the future of humanity—and first and foremost, the attention of Lyndon LaRouche—is focused on insuring the success of the upcoming May 14-15 Belt and Road Forum summit in Beijing, China.

At this Summit, a new and exciting reality representing the best aspirations of humankind is coming into being. The largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in human history is being built, bringing development to whole sections of the world, lifting millions out of poverty, providing productive jobs to millions. China has asked President Trump to join this great project and the United States should immediately do so. It could jump-start our economy to a modern manufacturing platform and modern infrastructure.

In his first telephone call with China’s President Xi Jinping today, the newly-elected President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, said that his country is most appreciative of the Belt and Road Initiative, and expects it to bring prosperity to the nations along its routes, including South Korea.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Prime Minister and now the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Senate, who was wisely chosen by President Macron to head the French delegation, has long been a supporter of the Belt and Road, and understands both its promise, and equally the danger to the world if it is allowed to fail. He told Chinese journalists on May 5 that he sees the New Silk Road as a global initiative for peace and cooperation. Against the background of a complicated and ever-changing world situation, China is bringing peace to the world with its plans and strategies which promote multilateralism and support the United Nations. Raffarin said he hopes that the Beijing Forum succeeds in bringing top politicians of other Western countries closer to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Russia’s Ambassador to Beijing said that “this cooperation may become the basis for forming a new international contour, namely the Eurasian all-encompassing partnership with participation of a wide range of countries which are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and in the future, the prospect of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).” He added that not only would President Putin participate, but also Prime Minister Medvedev—and with the two of them, enough Ministers of the Russian government to allow Russia to participate in every single conference panel at the level of government Minister.

As regards India, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that India will be represented at the Forum, but apparently the Indian government has not yet said who will go. Many Indians advocate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should go. One of them, former U.N. director Mukul Sanwal, asked yesterday in The Hindu, “Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprise everyone and participate in China’s ‘Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation’ which begins on May 14? That would be the kind of bold initiative he took in inviting leaders of our neighboring countries to his swearing-in in 2014, but with far greater significance.”

Likewise, it is critically important that President Trump, another leader famous for bold initiatives, “surprise everyone and participate.” There could be no greater assurance of world peace than the unexpected appearance of both Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in Beijing on May 14.

When he was appraised of many of these developments this morning, Lyndon LaRouche replied to the effect that, “Yes, but the new paradigm must work. It must not fail, or there is no future for mankind. There are many bad things out there. This must succeed. It must not be undermined.”