China's Belt and Road Initiative makes significant progress: research report

China's Belt and Road Initiative has made significant progress since it was proposed three years ago, according to a report published on Monday.

The report was released at a seminar on the Belt and Road in Xi'an, one of the termini of the ancient Silk Road.

According to the China's Renmin University, more than 100 countries and international bodies are involved in the initiative and more than 30 countries along the new Silk Road have cooperation agreements with Beijing. China is also working with more than 20 nations on industrial capacity projects.

The report said coordination of development strategies has begun with many countries along the routes, including Kazakhstan and Russia.

China is coordinating infrastructure standards, connecting transportation and energy infrastructure and boosting information connectivity.

China has signed investment treaties with various countries along routes and has already invested over 50 billion U.S. dollars.

To ensure adequate financing, China has been pushing for trade settlement in RMB, currency swaps, and other financial arrangements. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank considers projects related to the initiative as its top priority, investing 509-million U.S. dollars in its first four projects, all going to countries along the Belt and Road.

The Belt and Road, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes. Endi