2nd Belt & Road Forum for Int'l Cooperation: Beijing's 'most important diplomatic event for the year' to begin on April 25

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01:58

Less than a week to go until the second edition of the Belt and Road Forum For International Cooperation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday the leaders' meeting could help to provide a solution to a troubled world economy. CGTN's Sun Ye reports.

40 world leaders and heads of major international organizations, 2,000 participants from across continents and trades. All to convene next Thursday to Saturday, in what the foreign minister called China's most important diplomatic event of the year.

WANG YI CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER "The attendance for the forum, as well as the growth results coming from the Belt and Road initiative attest to the initiative's popularity. People along the routes are getting better jobs and creating better lives. This is what the up-coming meeting builds on."

Wang expects even more good news for businesses this time compared with the first edition of the meeting, especially with a new 800-strong CEO summit slated to take place at the forum. He also suggested the event, and the ideas it stands for could help to address the troubles of a sluggish world economy.

WANG YI CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER "As some are siding with protectionism, the Belt and Road initiative stands for solutions that are multilateral and of the open economy, which we believe are the path to growth. By pooling all relevant parties together, we will find the way to high-quality growth."

President Xi Jinping, who proposed the Belt and Road Initiative six years ago, will be speaking at the opening and closing of the forum.

SUN YE BEIJING "One big thing to watch out for is a joint-communique from the leaders' round table. It's expected to show how world leaders are solidifying their consensus concerning the B and R initiative."

Twelve sub-forums will also take place during the event. SY, CGTN, BJ.