Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the symposium to mark the fifth anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative has been widely welcomed by local officials and people from countries along the route. Here's more on how government leaders and researchers abroad saw the landmark speech.  

Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Zorana Mihajlovic says the Belt and Road Initiative is no longer just a proposal. She believes it is a global project linking civilizations, which lets countries all over the world realize the connectivity of ideas, knowledge and culture.  

Mihajlovic stresses that Serbia sees itself as a bridge between China and Europe. She mentions that China's first infrastructure project in Serbia under the initiative was the construction of a bridge, "which is quite meaningful."

Serbia's deputy prime minister also says that what impressed her most in President Xi's speech was his insistence that local governments have a responsibility to bring about positive progress in people's lives, and should implement livelihood projects that can benefit their people. An example of which is that China will bring the first high-speed rail, with a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour, to the country. 

During his speech, President Xi also said China will bring green development and environmental protection into Belt and Road projects. 

Professor Martin Jacques, a senior research fellow at the University of Cambridge, believes this means China will start to launch high-quality investments, which he expects will be met by widespread international support. 

China's chosen development path is one that it sees as matching its own national conditions. But the Belt and Road Initiative is rekindling the dream of eliminating poverty and achieving prosperity that other countries have. Perhaps this is part of what Xi means when he called on Belt and Road countries to "jointly build a community with a shared future for humankind". 

The former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan, Jawad Anani calls the idea of building a community of shared future for humankind "a great one". He says governments must ensure the interests of its people so that a country can further develop. Only by doing this can the "world see its future and people could live peacefully instead of being involved in war."