China's Silk Road strategy draws interest from over 50 countries: official   

何亞非：“一帶一路”是和平之路、發展之路

由中國新聞社主辦的“一帶一路”世界華文傳媒經濟論壇24日在海南澄邁舉行，國務院僑辦副主任何亞非出席論壇并致辭。何亞非表示，“一帶一路”是和平之路、發展之路，有助于中國與沿線國家以合作促安全，有效管控分歧，減少摩擦；以合作促發展，振興經濟，實現共同繁榮。[查看全文]

China's initiative to build the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st century maritime Silk Road has received interest from more than 50 countries, an official said Saturday.

He Yafei, deputy head of the overseas Chinese affairs office of the State Council, made the remarks at a conference in the southern-most island province of Hainan.

Along the belt and road are many developing countries with a combined population of 4.4 billion and an annual economic output of 2.2 trillion US dollars. Given complementary industrial structures, the economic belt has strong growth potentials, He said.

With huge forex reserves and more frequent uses of the yuan in trade settlement, China could offer low-cost financing to the countries which participate in the drive, he said.

The countries should seek consensus on cooperation and step up cooperation in fields like infrastructure, tourism, energy and finance, he said.

China's initiative gives new impetus to regional integration and offers rare growth opportunities for businesses, said Ong Chong Yi, minister counselor at the Malaysian Embassy in China.

The belt and road initiative was put forward by President Xi Jinping during his overseas visits in 2013. The program reminds people of the ancient Silk Road that set a paradigm for interaction among nations.