Dear colleagues and friends,Some months ago, Yuval Noah Harari, after publishing two major works: Sapiens (explored the past) and Homo Deus (explored the future), has explored and presented his last ideas on the present in a new book titled “21 Lessons for the 21th century”. For the author, “Humankind is losing faith in the liberal story that dominated global politics in recent decades, exactly when the merger of biotech and infotech confronts us with biggest challenges humankind has never encountered”. For him, among the most important questions are: How can we protect ourselves from nuclear war, ecological cataclysm and technological disruptions? What can we do about the poverty, the different imbalances, threat of terrorism, poverty or epidemic of fake news? How to maintain our collective and individual focus in the face of constant and disorienting change? Are we still capable of understanding the world we have created?In my view, a powerful response to these challenges is found through the concept of “a community with a shared future for mankind”, or a “community of common destiny”, developed and advocated strongly last years by President Xi Jinping. Very special was his analysis at January 18, 2017, in Geneva, at the United Nations Office. There, he has delivered a keynote speech, titled “Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind”, where he has elaborated further the model’s concept, based on equality, mutual benefits and win-win results. In his interpretation, President Xi, while he was upholding the globalization, he has injected new ideas for the international relations of the 21st century, different to the main thesis of the President Donald Trump’s doctrine: “America First”, based on national economic protectionism. Above all, the Trump’s concept, orientated in opposite direction, has astounded the entire world. Differently, President Xi’s proposals, in the process of globalization, reflect the main interests of human society; particularly the fact that the human race is confronted today with a growing number of global issues such as climate change, terrorism, cyber security and major contagious diseases. For them, there are no border and they need to be addressed through international cooperation. And for that, China is playing a proactive and constructive role through different initiatives. Two of them are “17+1” initiative and Belt and Road-one.In Geneva, President Xi, in his speech, considering that in “World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, in Davos, many speakers pointed out in their speeches that today’s world is full of uncertainties…,” stressed that “we need to get clear about a fundamental issue: Where did we come from? Where are we now? And where are we going?”…For him, “mankind is in an era of major development as well as profound transformation and change…, in an era of numerous challenges and increasing risks”... As a consequence, the proposed model for current and future global change is a “call of our time”, and through it we must “achieve shared and win-win development”… In another place he mentioned: “All countries and international judicial institutions should ensure equal and uniform application of international law and reject double standards and the practice of applying international law in a selective way, thus ensuring genuine equality and justice in the world…To achieve this goal, the international community should promote partnership, security, growth, inter-civilization exchanges and the building of a sound ecosystem”.In this very important speech, delivered in Geneva, President Xi, in fact, analyzed largely the concept; giving some ideas in upholding peace and stability and boosting common development. The followings are very crucial. They were:1.to stay committed to building a world of lasting peace through dialogue and consultation.… improving the mechanisms and means in resolving disputes, reducing tension and putting an end to wars and conflicts. Also, major powers should respect each other’s core interests …and build a new model of relations featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation... They should treat smaller countries as equals instead of imposing their will on them...2.to build a world of common security for all through joint efforts, because no country in the world can enjoy absolute security, particularly in today’s world where the terrorism is the common enemy of mankind and for that, fighting terrorism, enhancing coordination and building a global united front against it… is the shared responsibility of all countries…3.to build a world of common prosperity through win-win cooperation, supporting an open, transparent, inclusive and nondiscriminatory multilateral trading regime and building an open world economy. Trade protectionism and self-isolation will benefit no one;4.to build an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, in which the diversity of human civilizations not only defines our world, but it is also an engine driving the advance of them…Human civilizations are different only in identity and location;5.to make our world clean and beautiful by pursuing green and low-carbon development, maintaining harmony between man and nature and pursuing sustainable development.For Chinese President, supporting strongly these important pillars, China remains unchanged in its commitment, particularly: (1) to uphold world peace; (2) to pursue common development, based on a win-win strategy of opening-up; (3) to foster partnerships, pursuing a policy of peace, friendship and cooperation on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence; (4) to develop further multilateralism as an effective way to preserve peace and promote development.As we see, the main scope is to build a new framework of international relations and to promote and improve global governance, instead of a nation-state oriented behavior, boosting the common interests of mankind. Said differently, it is becoming urgent the building of a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity working together for a common destiny; for a more equitable and balanced global development partnership, in sharing rights and shouldering obligations. As it clear today, in the face of the complicated situation of the world economy and global problems, no country could take good care of itself alone, no country can address alone the main challenges facing mankind. Above all, a retreat into self-isolation will be a death of the humankind. For a new governance of the world, instead of the Cold War and the hard power politics, we need a harmonious cooperation and the smart power politics. Particularly, it is necessary to build a global human unity in favoring the cultural diversity in front of human cultural homogenization, the multilateral trade instead of protectionism and isolationism, the win-win cooperation, the macro policy coordination and healthy international relations, respecting the specificities among countries; civilizations, cultures and religions and their flourish and grow in harmony.As it is clear from what was said above, the concept of “Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind” is based on a thorough and profound analysis of the current situation of the today’s world and the tomorrow’s one. In many aspects, we are approaching to a crucial point of major development, transformation, and adjustment. For that, it is essential to find ways in solving the two major global issues - What kind of world to build? How to build it?. Above all, to establish a new theoretical breakthrough and a new norm for international relations, a new approach to countries relations, developing state-to-state relations through partnership and cooperation, and setting up a stronger network of global partnership. It calls also for a new type of international relations founded entirely on win-win cooperation and mutual benefit common development. In this sense, the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, as a supreme ideal for human society is suitable for all countries, regions, nations and civilizations. On the other side, the establishment of a community of shared future for mankind could be achieved through practical and concrete actions and joint efforts of people all around the world, and more in developing different initiatives and new global platforms for international cooperation.In the frame of the idea of Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind, during these last years, among others, China has launched to two important initiatives.·The first one is the “16+1” platform, created in 2012. Through this initiative, China is strengthening the cooperation with 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (11 EU member states and five Balkan countries). Actually, also, Greece is another country included in that platform, named now as a “17+1”. Another state, ready to participate in it, could be also Kosovo, which, based on the Berlin initiative, was among Western Balkans countries, adopting the EU standards.·The second one is Belt and Road Initiative, which has a big number of participating countries that have either shown strong interest or are already engaged. In fact, it is not a simple geopolitics, but a very important economic framework of cooperation for all countries interested on it. The aim of Belt and Road is not to reinvent the wheel, but more to complement the development strategies of countries involved. With the Belt and Road Initiative and its reach into the wider world as the core of China’s global engagement, the 17 European countries have now a better idea on the mechanism “17+1”, because both are linked very closely to each other.In the “17+1” initiative, these 17 states are competitors among them and they are offering a growing market of over hundred million consumers near the doorstep of the “old” Europe. Also, in my view, this “17+1” initiative is a new engine for Europe - China Cooperation, a concrete kind of smart power strategy, in stimulating different contacts, developing mutual trade and investments, strengthening connectivity and cooperation on culture, science and technology. Apart from a policy forum or a general framework for all 28 states, named the EU-China Connectivity Platform - that aims to create synergies between EU policies/projects, each EU member could pursue its own bilateral policies towards China.Unfortunately, both initiatives were greeted with suspicion by the EU and its bureaucracy, including the question of rivalry. But, different concerns raised from the bureaucracy of Brussels, in some cases also from the politics, are without sense; creating a kind of confusion between normal economic and trade cooperation, on one side and the legal and political principles forming political consensus on main affairs among EU member states, on the other one. In a globalised world, any fruitful economic cooperation of a European country with China doesn’t reduce the role of the EU policy in this country. Also, any pretention that China is a threat to the European unit, that Chinese initiatives could undermine consensus within the EU, are entirely wrong and against the main principle of multilateralism and the free economic and liberal trade.In my optics, the “17+1” initiative is a bridge to Europe in both geographical and metaphorical sense. Cooperation between China and CEE, particularly on developing the region’s infrastructure, will both enable physical connectivity and promote economic integration between China and Europe. In this sense, the “17+1” initiative is becoming a new engine for cooperation EU-China, particularly in the key areas of energy technology, industrial projects, agriculture and transportation.Regarding the EU’s perspective toward China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), there is no unified and clear EU position- at least yet. It doesn’t mean that EU has no further strategic interests in Asia, the world’s most populous and economically largest continent. This has to do with more urgent problems for the next future of EU, mainly Brexit, the concerns over populism, the migration crisis, the Catalonian crisis, etc. However, at the individual EU member state level, a large number of European members have already embraced the initiative and have commenced cooperation, especially in the framework of the mechanism “17+1”. Much more important, is the BRI or the New Silk Road. This initiative is a multifaceted, multinational one. It is establishing a network of enhanced overland and maritime economic corridors extending between China and Europe, better integrating a region that consists of over 65 countries and 60% of the population, 75% of the energy resources, and 70% of GDP in the world. In this sense, China’s “One Belt, One Road” project aims to make central Asia better connected to the world, and, in the same time, it is one of the instruments to further opening up China’s economy. In November 2017, Chinese President Xi, one year before the 40th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping’s platform on reform and opening-up, declared: “We should continue to foster an open economy that benefits all. Openness brings progress, while self-seclusion leaves one behind. China will not slow its steps in opening up itself.”In this process of Chinese opening up, also Albania is trying to find its right place, profiting from both initiatives and considering the positive cooperation and friendship of both countries, since the beginning. In fact, the Albania-China relations date back in the period after the Second War, when Albania was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China and giving its contribution in China’s regaining its seat at the UN as the PRC in the early 1970s. Remembering that, in the year of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), I will like to express my deep esteem, my high respect and admiration of what was reached during these decades! Considering the number 70, which traditionally in China is an auspicious number, and the fact that a person who reaches 70 is evaluated “rare and precious” (guxi 古稀), I like to emphasize again that the entirely growth of China is especially “rare and precious”.In the new situation, the possibilities for both countries, Albania and China, are higher. Albania itself is strategically positioned at a crossroad between east and west, with the major port of Durres linked to the Balkan hinterlands and the rest of Europe by rail. The economy is showing signs of improvement. Albania, after financial crises, grew nearly 3.5% the last year. The country’s credit rating is still subprime, but it was upgraded by Standard & Poor’s to B+. Albania GDP per capita has risen three-fold over the last decade. In the last years, there has been increasing interest from Chinese companies to invest in Albania and replacing the traditional Western investing partners. According to statistics from Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the bilateral trade volume reached 636 million U.S. dollars in 2016, up 13.9 percent year on year. Currently, China is Albania’s major trade partner and main investment source. The trade volume between Albania and China has grown steadily in recent years and China is now the second partner related to trade exchanges, accounting for around 8% of exports and surpassing old-time partners Greece and Turkey. Chinese companies, whether public or private, have shown interest in strategic sectors of Albania. The number of Chinese enterprises present in Albania was around 150, according to National Registration Center data. Also, over 90 Chinese companies have visited Albania to seek for investment opportunities, trade partners, projects or other opportunities of cooperation with Albania during last year. Above all, some new Chinese investments in Albania are penetrating in some very important sectors. Thus, China’s Geo-Jade Petroleum, a traded oil company, bought controlling rights in two Albanian oil fields then controlled by Canada-based Banker’s Petroleum for nearly $442.3 million. Months ago, two other Chinese groups announced that they were buying Tirana International Airport in a concession deal. This move is consistent with China’s strategy of buying stakes in major transportation hubs along the Mediterranean. These investments: the Tirana International Airport and the country’s largest oil producer turned China into a strategic investor in Albania.China and Albania agreed to enhance cooperation in areas of infrastructure, production capacity, tourism and agriculture under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative and the “17+1” mechanism. Major Chinese companies had expressed interest in signing long-term contracts with Albanian companies operating in the field of chromium extraction, since they seem to be the biggest buyer of this mineral. Albania offered a range of public-private investment opportunities in stable and growing sectors such as energy and mining, transport, electronic communications infrastructure and urban waste; tourism; agriculture and fisheries and economic zones.However, some projects in Albania and Balkan’s countries, lived under different geopolitical umbrellas, are moving slowly. Also, in the Balkans, on one side, the EU and the United States are trying to keep the control, and, on the other side, Turkey and Russia are back or trying to be back, using there the different antagonisms. In the case of China there is no antagonism, new or ancient ones. On the contrary! What is needed now is the velocity, an accelerated cooperation based on the Belt and Road Initiative and the “17+1” mechanism, and I believe, in both initiatives the reserves are very high, particularly in the Balkans regarding the “17+1” strategy.Thank you for your attention!