China's "Belt and Road Initiative" has been recognized by a growing number of people worldwide, according to the 2016-2017 China National Image Global Survey released Friday.
In 2014, only 6 percent of the overseas respondents had heard of the "Silk Road economic belt" and the "21st century maritime Silk Road," the survey showed.
However, the percentage rose to 18 percent in the 2016-2017 survey and was as high as 40 percent in Indonesia, India and other countries situated along the routes.
Most of the respondents believed that the initiative is important to their countries and themselves, and those in developing countries and young people welcomed the initiative at higher rates, according to the survey.
It also showed that more than 60 percent of the surveyed recognized China's active role in the BRICS mechanism and expected it to play a more active role.
Jointly conducted by the Center for International Communication Studies under the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, Kantar Millward Brown and Lightspeed, citizens of 22 countries were interviewed for the survey, with 500 respondents from each country.
