On August 23, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) annual Chinese character release event in 2024 was held in Quanzhou, Fujian Province. The theme of the event was "carrying forward the spirit of the Maritime Silk Road and promoting mutual learning of civilizations." After lengthy discussions between experts and scholars, the character "hui" was selected as the BRI Chinese character of the year for 2024 from a list of nine candidate characters: "lian（联）,""chang（畅）,""wen（稳）,""you（友）,""hui（惠）,""kai(开),""wen(文),""jian (坚)"and "cheng(成)." CGTN spoke to Pan Qingzhong, vice president of the China Public Relations Association, to explain why "hui" was chosen and the significance of the BRI annual Chinese character event.