The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been generating a lot of excitement at the annual meeting of the World Economic Conference (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland.

Dubbed China's Trillion dollar Vision, BRI will direct investment in infrastructure across Asia over the coming decade. However, this project faces challenges in tackling debt, supporting sustainable development and uniting a fractured international community. 

Proposed by China in 2013, the BRI aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road. How can the government and private sectors harness the risks to guarantee the 1.5 trillion U.S dollars investment will succeed in kick-starting development and growth?

CGTN's Senior Correspondent Tian Wei spoke to a diverse panel, aiming to reflect the global outlook of the project. Xu Niansha, Chairman of the China Poly Group, speaks at the panel session on the BRI held as part of the WEF. He said that BRI indeed has reflected the economic development and historical development of China. And we believe that through this Initiative we are able to optimize and complement each other's resources. 

Xu also shares the past and believes China has come a long way. "Actually China has gone through those kinds of experiences, so we do know what people need, and that is why I think we can really do a better job in our cooperation," said he. 

According to Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan is an active member of East-West Transportation Corridor. "We definitely support BRI," he addressed. 

"First, it is easy to talk about the reform and opening-up for all countries, and free trade benefits people. But in practice, free trade has winners and losers. That is why we have seen Brexit, we have seen President Trump, those people felt free trade left them behind, and so they need somebody to oppose this. But reaching there is not a given, we need a lot of hard work, we need to work together," said Heng Swee Keat, Singapore's Minister of Finance, brings about two important aspects of BRI that need to pay attention.|

"Second, global connectivity is key, today we cannot think trade investment without transport connectivity. So if we look at the BRI as a very major infrastructure project, it has its own special economic logic,'' he added.

And Wang Yongqing, Vice-Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, concluded with detailed figures. "There are about 120 countries being involved in this Initiative and over 30 international organizations who have participated in this Initiative. Over 180 bilateral cooperation and memorandum have been signed that show recognition."

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)