China's Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin presided over an hour-long seminar with the theme "Belt and Road Initiative: Building bonds across Asia, Europe and beyond" on Friday in Washington, DC. The seminar was part of the three-day World Bank and IMF Annual meeting that opened on Friday.

In a press conference, Shi said that World Bank President Jim Yong Kim already mentioned that the B&R seminars would now be held more frequently and will be part of both the Spring and Annual meetings of the two global financial institutions.

"In the future, the seminars will be detailed and practical, focusing on specific cooperation projects among participating countries and financial raising," Shi said.

"China has already become the second largest economy and so the international organizations and we, ourselves, have high expectations and requirements, such as reforms of the financial and management systems, perfection of the economic operation system, and further opening up," he explained.

"In 2013, the 'Belt and Road Initiative' proposed by President Xi Jinping gained high praise and active responses from the international community. Having this one-hour-long seminar was very effective and a very good start," he said.

"The MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed [with B&R countries] played a pioneering role. Right now we are working on how to make it into reality,” the Chinese official told reporters.

"We are now preparing for the establishment of a multilateral fund raising and cooperation center, to strengthen knowledge-sharing and early stage preparation for B&R projects. In the meantime, we will enhance training of all types of participating enterprises, either private or state-owed."

Shi noted that China's long-valued cooperation with World Bank has given good results in the past decades.

"Especially after President Xi’s proposal of B&R initiative, the World Bank has been very responsive. First, we can better share with B&R countries our experiences in economic development through cooperating with World Bank. Second, we will mobilize more funds raising not only from multilateral development banks, but also from private sectors, to make this initiative spread to more countries and regions."

World Bank Group President Kim, who also attended the seminar, said: "I think two things that the world needs very much right now are strong leadership and an embrace of multilateral approaches to solving difficult problems. And the Belt and Road Initiative is both of those things." 

Kim earlier cited President Xi’s quotes at last year's Summer Davos on his opening speech, "President Xi Jinping of China said that the global market system is the ocean we all swim in and cannot escape from. He said, 'Any attempt to…channel the waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible.'" Maximizing Finance for Development is our best chance to make the global market system work for everyone, Kim said.