London, UK - April 4, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of buildings, traffic, pedestrians
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine McGuinness, chair, Policy and Resources Committee, City of London Corporation:
"I think over the past few years, we've seen it move from a vision where we've been asking what exactly does a Belt and Road project look like to an initiative now where we're seeing more and more institutions become involved, we're seeing the depth of interest in these projects, and it's clearly an area for greater collaboration and cooperation."

FILE: London, UK - March 15, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Cityscape of London
4. Statue
5. Pedestrians
6. Road signs

London, UK - April 4, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine McGuinness, chair, Policy and Resources Committee, City of London Corporation (partially overlaid with shot 8):
"We look forward to developing that further. London is a great center for infrastructure financing. It's a great global gateway to capital and as Belt and Road projects draw in capital from elsewhere besides just China, London will be a strong partner for the initiative going forward."
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8. Various of large cranes working at construction site
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FILE: London, UK - March 15, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Pedestrians, traffic
10. UK national flag

London, UK - April 4, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine McGuinness, chair, Policy and Resources Committee, City of London Corporation (partially overlaid with shots 12-13):
"But this is going to be a great opportunity to talk about where we take this project forward, where the scope is for London to help participate, and I'm very much looking forward to building on the work that's been done over the past few years. We also need to look at how we can apply international or shared standards to some of these projects. We have some shared principles, which are the start of a journey. They're something on which we need to build, but they're a good starting point to look at the question of sustainability in financing on the Belt and Road."
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12. Potted plant
13. Cranes working at construction site
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14. Various of traffic, pedestrians

A City of London Corporation official expects more positive signals will be released at the upcoming Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing after the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has made great headway in the past few years.

Catherine McGuinness, chair of the Policy and Resources Committee of the City of London Corporation, said she witnessed the Belt and Road Initiative turning from an idea to reality while sitting for interviews with the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) on April 4.

"I think over the past few years, we've seen it move from a vision where we've been asking what exactly does a Belt and Road project look like to an initiative now where we're seeing more and more institutions become involved, we're seeing the depth of interest in these projects, and it's clearly an area for greater collaboration and cooperation," she said.

Covering one square mile, the City of London, also colloquially known as the Square Mile, gathers over 250 international financial institutions and a large number of top financial and law affairs experts. As an international gateway for capital, the City of London has attracted over 30 Chinese financial institutions so far.

"We look forward to developing that further. London is a great center for infrastructure financing. It's a great global gateway to capital and as Belt and Road projects draw in capital from elsewhere besides just China, London will be a strong partner for the initiative going forward," McGuinness said.

McGuinness is looking forward to attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation scheduled for April 26-27 in Beijing and hearing China's vision for the next stage of the Belt and Road project. She has been invited to attend a half-day meeting on financial connectivity, a roundtable about bank structuring, the opening ceremony and other activities.

"But this is going to be a great opportunity to talk about where we take this project forward, where the scope is for London to help participate, and I'm very much looking forward to building on the work that's been done over the past few years. We also need to look at how we can apply international or shared standards to some of these projects. We have some shared principles, which are the start of a journey. They're something on which we need to build, but they're a good starting point to look at the question of sustainability in financing on the Belt and Road," she said.

The BRI, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.