What countries are there in the Belt and Road Summit Forum?

The Belt and Road Initiative has 65 member countries, and 152 countries participate.

Mongolia and ASEAN 10 East Asian countries (subtotal 1 1): Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei and Philippines.

18 West Asian countries (including Egypt in North Africa and Greece and Cyprus in Europe): Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.

Eight countries in South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan.

Five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Seven CIS countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Moldova.

16 Central and Eastern European countries: Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and Macedonia.

The Historical Background of the Belt and Road Initiative

The Silk Road is an ancient commercial and trade route on land, which started in ancient China and connected Asia, Africa and Europe. Its original function was to transport silk, porcelain and other commodities produced in ancient China, and later it became the main road of economic, political and cultural exchanges between the East and the West.

The overland Silk Road refers to the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC) when Emperor Wu sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, starting from the capital Chang 'an (Jin 'an) and passing through Liangzhou, Jiuquan, Guazhou, Dunhuang, Xinjiang, Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria to reach the Mediterranean Sea, and ending in Rome.

This road is considered to be the intersection of ancient eastern and western civilizations connecting Asia and Europe, and silk is the most representative commodity. The Maritime Silk Road refers to the maritime passage for economic and cultural exchanges between ancient China and other parts of the world, which was first opened in the Qin and Han Dynasties.

From Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Ningbo, Yangzhou and other coastal cities, from Nanyang to the Arabian Sea, and even as far as the east coast of Africa, it is the "Maritime Silk Road" for maritime trade.