The top 10 stories of 2017
Belt and Road Forum vows to boost global cooperation
By Zhang Yunbi
On May 14 and 15, President Xi Jinping chaired the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
The forum, which was the largest multilateral diplomatic activity proposed and hosted by China since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, was attended by 29 foreign heads of state and government. Other delegates included officials, entrepreneurs and financiers, plus representatives of the media from more than 130 countries and regions.
The attendees represented more than two-thirds of the world population, and their combined GDP accounted for 90 percent of the global total.
During the forum, Xi set out the goal of building the Belt and Road Initiative into a path for peace, prosperity, opening-up, innovation and exchanges.
The meeting produced a broad consensus among nations from across the world on jointly advancing the initiative. In addition, it produced more than 270 specific results in 76 broad categories across five key areas, and a number of major projects were launched during the forum.
