2023 is the 10 anniversary of the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in China. The third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum was held in Beijing, and representatives from 140 countries and more than 30 international organizations will attend the summit forum.
There are 197 countries in the world, including 193 United Nations Member States, 2 United Nations Observer States (Palestine, Vatican) and 2 non-United Nations Member States (Niue, Cook Islands).
By the end of 10 in 2023, China had signed cooperation documents with 152 countries to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative. The number of countries joining the Belt and Road Initiative accounts for 77% of the global total, the area of countries joining the Belt and Road Initiative accounts for 65% of the total area of 197 countries, and the population of countries joining the Belt and Road Initiative accounts for 65% of the global population.
The Historical Background of the Belt and Road Initiative
The Silk Road is an ancient commercial and trade route on land, which started in ancient China and connected Asia, Africa and Europe. Its original function was to transport silk, porcelain and other commodities produced in ancient China, and later it became the main road of economic, political and cultural exchanges between the East and the West.
The overland Silk Road refers to the Western Han Dynasty (202- 8 years ago) when Emperor Wu sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, starting from the capital Chang 'an (Jin 'an), passing through Liangzhou, Jiuquan, Guazhou, Dunhuang, Xinjiang, Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, reaching the Mediterranean Sea and ending in Rome.
This road is considered to be the intersection of ancient eastern and western civilizations connecting Asia and Europe, and silk is the most representative commodity. The Maritime Silk Road refers to the maritime passage for economic and cultural exchanges between ancient China and other parts of the world, which was first opened in the Qin and Han Dynasties.
From Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Ningbo, Yangzhou and other coastal cities, from Nanyang to the Arabian Sea, and even as far as the east coast of Africa, it is the "Maritime Silk Road" for maritime trade.
Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Belt and Road