Xi's Belt and Road speech wins wide praise

President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on Sunday earned wide praise from experts, international delegates and entrepreneurs.

"Spanning thousands of miles and years, the ancient silk routes embody the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit," Xi told an audience of more than 1,500 from across the globe.

The Belt and Road Initiative is "a project of the century" that will benefit people across the world, he said.

Here is a collection of comments from attendees.

Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank. [Photo/Xinhua]

Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank

President Xi's speech today is a very good complement to his Davos speech (in January). I thought that the Davos speech was the best articulation of what the world system was and what we ought to do for everybody. It was a very powerful speech. Today's speech was much more specific about how to make the system work now along the Belt and Road.

We've been talking about win-win situations, and we believe there're many win-win situations out there. Now we're putting it in motion. There are very few leaders in the world who, because of their own position, their own charisma, their own ideas, can push the entire region forward. President Xi can do that.