“The historical Silk Road is a valuable cultural heritage. For centuries it has been a passage for peaceful cooperation， openness， inclusiveness， mutual learning and mutual benefit.

China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in the same spirit. It embodies the oriental philosophy of inclusiveness and harmony. It highlights the importance of shared interests and is in line with the trend of open and inclusive cooperation.

It also answers the call of countries around the world， particularly in Eurasia and Africa， for closer， multually beneficial cooperation. Many of the countries along the Belt and Road routes are abundant in natural and human resources but in need of capital， technology， and infrastructure.

According to statistics， as of 2020， a total of eight trillion US dollars will be needed to build domestic infrastructure in Asia. The existing financing capabilities are far from meeting such huge needs.

The Belt and Road Initiative was launched to provide a solution to this problem，aiming to foster policy coordination， infrastructure connectivity， unimpeded trade， financial integration and people-to-people bonds.”

Chinese Ambassador to the U.K. Liu Xiaoming made these comments on November 21 in his speech “The Belt and Road Offers Opportunities for a Promising Future” delivered at the 2016 Investment Institute Forum.

“Five years on， from Warsaw to Bucharest， Belgrade， Suzhou， and Riga， through various platforms （16+1 Summit， Economic Forum， Cooperation Secretariat， National CoordinatorsMeeting， Ministerial Meeting on Promoting Trade and Economic Cooperation， and Local LeadersMeeting）， we have promoted 16+1 cooperation from small to big， from shallow to deep， to be more plentiful and mature.

The 16+1 cooperation has realized alignment of the development strategies of China and CEE countries， creating synergy with overall ChinaEU cooperation， and committed to the win-win results for China， CEE countries， and the EU. The 16+1 cooperation conforms to the common desire for peace， development， cooperation， and mutual benefit for people from China and CEE countries， and has initiated a new practical cooperation model for countries within different regions and social systems.”

Chinese Ambassador to Croatia Deng Ying made these remarks on Chinas cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries in a written interview with Croatian magazine National last November.