Initiatives of building overland and maritime Silk Roads will help boost the renewal of Asia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday.

"We want to work with relevant countries to add two powerful wings to the rejuvenation of Asia," he told a press conference held on the sidelines of the annual session of the country's national legislature.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to build a Silk Road economic belt when he was on a visit to Kazakhstan last year. He later proposed building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road during his visit to Indonesia.

Wang said the initiatives aim to seize the opportunity of the further opening-up of China, especially opening in the westward direction.

He stressed that they will focus on economic cooperation and people-to-people cultural exchanges, and prioritize connectivity and trade and investment facilitation.

"We will pursue these initiatives through equal-footed consultation, and incremental progress with a clear goal to deliver benefits to all and build a community of shared interests," he said, adding the initiatives will proceed in parallel with the existing cooperation mechanisms and ideas in the region.

He said China welcomes relevant and interested countries to work together to discuss, build and benefit from the initiatives.

Wang said although the Silk Road was first travelled by Chinese people 2,000 years ago, it belongs to the whole world.

He added that peace, friendship, openness and inclusiveness as the core of the Silk Road spirit have become the common assets of human civilization.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2014)