According to survey results newly released at the BRI Media and Think Tank Exchange Forum this year, global recognition of the Belt and Road Initiative is on the rise, as the public opinion of the program becomes more favorable.
This survey was conducted last year across 21 nations, which took part in the BRI. More than half of the respondents thought the initiative played a decisive role in global economic development.
It also said that nearly three-quarters of those interviewed in 11 Asian countries believed that the BRI could bring opportunities to their economies. Nearly 70 percent of them said they hoped their governments could engage further with the BRI.
Gao Anming, the vice president of the China International Publishing Group, said that the major initiatives put forward by President Xi during his visit to East and Southeast Asia had drawn international attention.
According to Gao, several international think tanks have carried out extensive research on the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road as the BRI has become not only a construction and development program but also an important cultural phenomenon.
"In the face of numerous and complex changes in the international system, we should grasp the main theme of cooperative development and look at all issues from the perspective of peaceful development,” he said.
