Umberto de Pretto, IRU secretary general. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Umberto de Pretto, IRU secretary general

President Xi was talking about the future, not only looking at the challenges, but more about what are the solutions.

He presented it in a very articulated way, demonstrating that by looking at the past - the progress, prosperity and peace by interconnecting everyone and the cultural and economic advantages it brought - we can already figure out the future.

The Belt and Road initiative is a vision of the future on how this planet, not just China and Eurasia, but the whole planet can progress.

The initiative aims to boost globalization and interconnect all the economies. This is where we see the opportunity and where IRU can make great contributions. By road transport, we can connect every business in every village to markets all over the world. It is win-win trade, a win for China, and a win for all the countries along the Belt and Road.