FM says 'Belt and Road' initiatives not Marshall Plan

China's "Belt and Road" initiatives are nothing like the United States' Marshall Plan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday.[Special coverage]

The two initiatives are "both much older and much younger" than the US plan, Wang said.

"Comparing the two will be like comparing apples and oranges," Wang said.

Wang made the remarks at a news conference in Beijing on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

In recent years, China has promoted the initiatives of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The moves involve networks connecting China with Europe through a host of economies and form a flagship project of the country's diplomacy highlighting shared interests.

China's two initiatives are older, as it carries the spirit passed down from the Silk and Belt roads more than 2,000 years ago, aiming to improve the livelihood of people in countries along the links, Wang said. The initiatives are younger, as the plan is promoted in the globalized world in the spirit of win-win cooperation, the minister explained.

Wang said the Belt and Road initiatives should not be viewed in the Cold War mentality.

"It is not just China's solo move, but a symphony performed by all relevant countries," Wang said.