Since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, it has followed the golden rules of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, along with the Silk Road Spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit. The initiative, which is being recognized and accepted by more and more countries, is becoming a link to closer cooperation and common development for China and other participating countries.

To date, more than 150 countries and international organizations have signed cooperation documents with China. Moreover, during Xi's visit to Italy in March, the country became the first member of the Group of Seven to sign a memorandum of understanding on the initiative with China.

The Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be held in Beijing in late April under the theme of Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future. China will invite other participating countries to share in its development opportunities. It will also continue to work with relevant countries to safeguard the global multilateral trading system and jointly achieve high-quality economic development.

Progress has been made in the past six years on connectivity in five key areas that are closely linked and complement each other: policies, infrastructure, trade, finance and people-to-people exchanges. In addition, China has actively worked to create synergy with modernization programs in other countries, such as Kazakhstan's new economic policy of Nurly Zhol or Bright Path, Mongolia's Prairie Road Development initiative, Russia's transcontinental rail plan and Indonesia's Global Maritime Fulcrum.

The China railway express to Europe has created an important transport network connecting sub-regions in Asia and linking China and Europe. The trade volume between China and other participating countries reached $1.3 trillion in 2018, up 16.3 percent year on year, and 3.7 percentage points higher than China's foreign trade growth.

The Silk Road Fund, in which China input $40 billion, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have helped to promote financing connectivity. In the first two months of the year, Chinese companies increased investment in 48 Belt and Road participating countries, totaling $2.3 billion, up 7 percent year on year.

Through high-level visits, international student exchanges, visa facilitation, culture years, art and film festivals, and the establishment of Confucius Institutes, China's people-to-people exchanges with other participating countries have also been greatly enhanced.