The main objective of “A China Story” series is to provide an opportunity for representatives of member states, UN agencies and entities, international financial institutions, regional development banks, the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to acquire the most up-to-date information on China’s policy decisions, social developments, market trends, cultural innovations and efforts at environmental protection that will play a critical role in boosting cooperation between China and countries around the world.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development addresses infrastructure across the agenda, in particular through Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG9), which commits the international community to “building resilient infrastructure and promoting sustainable industrialization and innovation”. In line with the SDGs, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is leading its role of finding alternative approaches to achieving sustainable development by promoting facilities connectivity, technology innovation and multilateral
cooperation in the region.

During the 2016 G20 Summit, President Xi Jinping made the proposal of enhancing the interconnection of infrastructure to the world. He encouraged multilateral development banks to “adopt joint declaration of aspirations and give greater funds and intellectual support to infrastructure projects to speed up the process of global infrastructure connectivity.” On March 2016, The UN Security council adopted Resolution 2274 calling on all the parties to actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative; the same year in November, the 71st General Assembly (UNGA) agreed to incorporate the BRI into the UNGA resolution, encouraging each member state to support BRI to boost economic development of Afghanistan and the region. Therefore, the China Energy Fund Committee, a UN ECOSOC accredited special consultative NGO, is hosting the 5th China Story forum entitled “Infrastructure for Sustainable Development.” The forum will discuss the current situation and prospects of infrastructure development in China under the BRI, and explore the opportunities and challenges of sustainable development of infrastructure in the future. It aims to deepen the world's understanding of China's infrastructure industry and the blueprint of China’s BRI, hoping to opening up diversified channels for more of China’s energy and transportation enterprises to “go out”.

This year’s A China Story has brought outstanding Chinese experts and scholars to the stage, sharing insight on the current planning and future perspective of BRI, development of transportation systems, and financing of infrastructure development. They will work out pathways and recommendations for China's sustainable infrastructure development, in order to provide a reference for the world interconnection of infrastructure.