Untangling the OBOR Initiative and Belt and Road Forum
In the lead up to our Mandarin Month mixer on June 24, where you'll be able to meet with Beijing's best Mandarin schools, we'll be dishing out some language-learning advice on a daily basis. Read on if you don't want to wait to get started on improving your 中文. Mandarin Month is sponsored by Sanfine International Hospital.
Last month, there was a big kerfuffle around the ominous Belt and Road Initiative, the latest buzzword for the Chinese state media, when leaders of countries from across the world gathered in Beijing at the behest of President Xi Jinping for the Belt and Road Forum (short BRF, or as some might prefer BARF).
We break down what the fuss was all about, so you’ll be able to show off your impressive grasp of the latest catch phrases to both Chinese and non-Chinese people.
OBOR or BRF? OBOR is the acronym for “One Belt, One Road” and is used to talk about the initiative.
OBOR是一带一路的英语缩写，指的是整个项目。
OBOR shì yīdài yīlù de yīngyǔ suōxiě, zhǐ de shì zhěnggè xiàngmù.
The One Belt, One Road initiative consists of the “New Silk Road” and the “Maritime Silk Road”.
一带一路分为新丝绸之路和21世纪海上丝绸之路。
Yīdài yīlù fēn wéi xīn sīchóu zhī lù hé 21 shìjì hǎishàng sīchóu zhī lù.
The Belt is the Silk Road by land, also called economic belt, and the road is the sea route.
带意味着丝绸之路经济带，路就是说航线。
Dài yìwèizhe sīchóu zhī lù jīngjì dài, lù jiùshì shuō hángxiàn.
BRF stands for Belt and Road Forum, the international event, which was held in Beijing last month with much fanfare.
BRF缩写代表“一带一路”国际合作高峰论坛, 上个月大张旗鼓在北京举办的国际会议。
BRF suōxiě dàibiǎo “yī dài yī lù ”guó jì hé zuò gāo fēng lùn tán, shàng gè yuè dàzhāngqígǔ zài běijīng jǔbàn de guójì huìyì.
Here is the gist of the initiative:
The “New Silk Road” starts in Xi’an and goes West through Xinjiang until it hits Kazakhstan. It then leads through Central Asia to Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. It then enters Europe via the Bosporus Strait and heads northwest through Europe, including stops in Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Germany. The final stretch includes the Netherlands, and then Italy, where it ends in Venice.
新丝绸之路从西安开始往西通过新疆到哈萨克斯坦。之后路线经过中亚到伊朗，伊拉克，西利亚和土耳其。从这儿，他会进入欧洲，包括保加利亚，罗马尼亚，捷克和德国。最后一部分包涵荷兰和意大利，路线最后在威尼斯结束。
Xīn sīchóu zhī lù cóng xī'ān kāishǐ wǎng xī tōngguò xīnjiāng dào hāsàkè sītǎn. Zhīhòu lùxiàn jīngguò zhōng yà dào yīlǎng, yīlākè, xīlì yǎ hé tǔ'ěrqí. Cóng zhè'er, tā huì jìnrù ōuzhōu, bāo guā bǎojiālìyǎ, luómǎníyǎ, jiékè hé déguó. Zuìhòu yībùfèn bāohan hélán hé yìdàlì, lùxiàn zuìhòu zài wēinísī jiéshù.
The Maritime Silk Road is a sea route which begins in Quanzhou in Fujian province, runs down to the Malacca Strait, crosses the Indian Ocean to Africa, where it goes north through the Red Sea into the Mediterranean, where it ends in Venice; also the final stop of the land-based Silk Road.
海上丝绸之路是在福建省泉州开始的航线。路线先往南到马六甲海峡，然后跨过印度洋到非洲。从这儿路线继续往北经过红海到地中海，最后在威尼斯跟四周之路经济带同样结束。
Hǎishàng sīchóu zhī lù shì zài fújiàn shěng quánzhōu kāishǐ de hángxiàn. Lùxiàn xiān wǎng nán dào mǎliùjiǎ hǎixiá, ránhòu kuàguò yìndùyáng dào fēizhōu. Cóng zhè'er lùxiàn jìxù wǎng běi jīngguò hónghǎi dào dìzhōnghǎi, zuìhòu zài wēinísī gēn sìzhōu zhī lù jīngjì dài tóngyàng jiéshù.
It includes what the government likes to call a “win-win cooperation” with these countries in areas such as transport networks, telecoms, and energy pipelines.
项目包含在交通网络，电信和能源管道领域跟些国家所谓的双赢合作。
Xiàngmù bāohán zài jiāotōng wǎngluò, diànxìn hé néngyuán guǎndào lǐngyù gēn xiē guójiā suǒwèi de shuāngyíng hézuò.
It plans to integrate more than 60 countries or more than half of the world’s population.
一带一路计划融入60多个国家。他们人口相当于是世界全人口的一半以上。
Yīdài yīlù jìhuà róngrù 60 duō gè guójiā. Tāmen rénkǒu xiàng dāng yúshì shìjiè quán rénkǒu de yībàn yǐshàng.
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Photos: Quintiq.com, Xinhua.net, Nbcnews.com
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