We welcome the active participation of all like-minded countries in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Geng Shuang said Monday at a daily routine press briefing.

(Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)

Geng said, "I cannot see any inevitable connections between the success of Belt and Road Forum and the participation of leaders from western countries, who are not always the protagonists of the international arena."

The second Belt and Road Forum attracted more than 6,000 foreign guests from 150 countries and 92 international organizations. Leaders from 38 countries, including China and heads of the UN and International Monetary Fund, attended the roundtable summit. This is the vote of confidence and approval of the BRI from everyone.

Geng added that we welcome western countries' leaders and people from all walks of life to attend the forum. In fact, some influential western leaders attended, and many other western countries have sent representatives from different levels and fields to attend different events in the summit. For example, France, Germany, the UK, Japan and the EU sent high-level representatives to the meeting and spoke.

"The joint construction of BRI is an economic cooperation initiative of openness, tolerance and transparency," he stressed. "We welcome the active participation of all like-minded countries in the BRI, on the basis of joint consultations, construction and sharing to seek win-win results."