State Councilor Yang Jiechi addresses the opening ceremony of the 3rd World Peace Forum in Beijing, capital of China, June 21, 2014.[Photo/Xinhua]
BEIJING - State Councilor Yang Jiechi said on Saturday that China will carry forward the spirit of the ancient Silk Road, and work actively to build the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st century Maritime Silk Road.
Yang made the remarks when addressing the opening ceremony of the two-day Third World Peace Forum at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
With the theme of In Pursuit of Common Security: Peace, Mutual Trust and Responsibility, the forum will discuss security issues in the Asian-Pacific region, the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as nuclear nonproliferation.
Yang said for centuries, the Silk Road has been a synonym for peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit and this spirit has been passed on from generation to generation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his visit to Central and Southeast Asian countries last fall, put forward the two initiatives of building an economic belt along the ancient Silk Road and a 21st century Maritime Silk Road respectively, thus breathing new life into the time-honored wonder, he said.
He said many countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe as well as Russia have welcomed and voiced support for the plans.
“China will work with all parties on the project with a view to achieving common development for countries along the routes,” he said.
Last month, President Xi put forth an initiative for common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security in Asia, at the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia.
Yang said the concept has a major and far-reaching significance for enhancing mutual trust and cooperation among the countries and bringing about lasting peace and common prosperity in the region and the world.