The “Belt and Road” Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism Council meeting was held on April 24–25 at the Belt and Road Tax Academy in Beijing. Senior tax officials from over 20 countries and regions, including Nepal, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Gabon, and Georgia, as well as experts from international organizations, attended the meeting. Participants engaged in extensive discussions on promoting multilateralism, deepening international tax cooperation under the Belt and Road framework, and supporting global economic governance to strengthen economic globalization. The meeting also approved the Federation of German Industries as a new observer of the cooperation mechanism.
In his keynote speech, Hu Jinglin, Commissioner of China’s State Taxation Administration, emphasized the significant progress made by the Belt and Road tax cooperation mechanism over the past six years. He highlighted that five forums had been successfully organized, various action plans issued, six tax academies established, and the cooperation network expanded to Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. Hu also called for strengthening multilateral cooperation to build a fair, transparent, and sustainable international tax environment. Initiated by China in 2019, the cooperation mechanism now has 37 members and 31 observers with the addition of the Federation of German Industries. The sixth forum is scheduled to take place in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, in September.