Initiative not a solo project by China

President Xi Jinping makes a speech at the Boao Forum for Asia in South China's island province of Hainan on March 28, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

"The initiative will be open and inclusive, not exclusive," Xi told the Boao Forum for Asia in 2015.

"It will be a real chorus comprising all countries along the routes, not a solo for China itself. To develop the Belt and Road is not to replace existing mechanisms or initiatives for regional cooperation. Much to the contrary, we will build on the existing basis to help countries align their development strategies and form complementarity."