Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to attend the 2nd  Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which China will host this year.

The 2nd  Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is expected to take place in Beijing in April this year. 

The Belt and Road Initiative is an ambitious effort to improve regional cooperation and connectivity which seeks to strengthen infrastructure, trade and investments and people-to-people linkages between China and some 65 other countries.

The Belt and Road initiative is Chinese Present’s signature foreign policy plan, unveiled five years ago to boost trade through investment in ports, power plants and other infrastructure in more than 80 countries from Asia to Europe and Africa.  Having since been expanded to the Arctic and South America, the initiative has become synonymous with much of China’s diplomatic and foreign economic activity.

China says the initiative offers benefits for all countries, with major projects including rail and highways linking China with Pakistan and Laos, direct China-Europe cargo train links as well as ports in various countries including Greece, Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

Beijing hosted the first Belt and Road forum in May 2017 with participation from more than 100 countries, including 29 national leaders from countries such as Greece, Pakistan and Russia.

Chinese media report say the Belt and Road International Forum with the theme of “The Win-Win of the Belt and Road Initiative” was held in Beijing on June 28, 2018.  Nearly 200 Chinese and foreign guests reportedly attended, including officials, diplomatic envoys, experts and think tanks.

Topics of discussion included international economic cooperation corridors, economic integration, regional connectivity, and cultural exchange.

At the forum, the BRI Think-tank Alliance Presentation Platform, BRI Entrepreneurs’ Alliance and the BRI Fund of Beijing International Peace Culture Foundation were launched.