Global recognition of the Belt and Road Initiative is on the rise, as public opinion of the program becomes more favorable. That's according to survey results released at this year's BRI Media and Think Tank Exchange Forum, taking place in China's Nanjing.

A survey conducted last year in 21 countries taking part in the BRI showed more than half of the respondents thought the program played a positive role in global economic development. It also said nearly 3-quarters of those interviewed in 11 Asian nations believed the BRI could bring opportunities to their economies. The results also showed many people in the countries surveyed hoped their governments could further engage with the BRI.

GAO ANMING, VICE PRESIDENT CHINA INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING GROUP "During his visits to East and Southeast Asia, President Xi Jinping put forward major initiatives for the joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. These initiatives have attracted the attention of the international community. In recent years, international think tanks have carried out extensive research on the Belt and Road Initiative, which has become an important cultural phenomenon alongside the BRI's joint construction and development. In the face of numerous and complex changes in the international system, we should grasp the main theme of cooperative development and look at the problem from the perspective of peaceful development."