Beijing hosted an international event to mark the 5th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative on Sunday, with delegates discussing ways to achieve high-quality sustainable development. Christy Scull has more.

Around 400 participants attended the first Silk Road International Capacity Cooperation Forum. Some of them came from countries that have already had industrial capacity cooperation with China for several years.

NEGUS KEBEDE ETHIOPIA'S MINISTER-COUNSELOR TO CHINA "Ethiopia has been achieving double-digit economic growth for the last 15 years, I can say. And also enabling creating the basic necessary economic infrastructure, which is making Ethiopia one of the preferred investment destination in Africa."

ALEXI GUNASEKERA SRI LANKA'S MINISTER-COUNSELOR TO CHINA "Sri Lanka actually does not have the economic know-how. To get the economic know-how, we need foreign cooperation. So this initiative is very good."

Another highlight of the forum was to launch the "Belt and Road International Cooperation Express" project. It aims to make convenient one-stop matchmaking services for bilateral cooperation, including, connections between governments, policies, projects, capital, third-party services and overseas industrial parks. Chinese entrepreneurs expressed their views on the project.

SONG ZHIPING, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD CHINA NATIONAL BUILDING MATERIAL GROUP "We have good technologies, we have talent and experience, and we are willing to build a community of a shared future. While we still need good organizations that are orderly and effective, the International Cooperation Express does this for us. Though it has just begun, it is especially significant for project implementation."

ZHANG HUARONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD HUAJIAN GROUP "First it provides help for cooperations in building industrial parks in terms of infrastructure, including water, electricity and transport. Second, it provides help for interactions in the whole industrial chain. More importantly, it provides a platform for information and services for the needs of development."

Some participants also refute the allegation that the international capacity cooperation will shift China's excessive production capacity to countries along the route. They say the belt and road initiative has brought upgraded -- rather than backward low-end -- technology and that Chinese technicians help train the local staff.