New Silk Road to strengthen cooperation across the region - Zhang Wei

"The Great Silk Road was created nearly 2,000 years ago as a main route for ancient traders. Nowadays it has gained completely new status, it strengthens diplomatic ties and expands direct contacts between the Central Asian countries," the Chinese diplomat said at the international forum "The New Silk Road - Road of Sustainable Development and Universal Prosperity" in Almaty on Wednesday. In his words, the new Silk Road is aimed at solidifying the prosperity and cooperation across the region. "This incentive is based on the ideas of peace and cooperation, openness and tolerance, mutually beneficial partnership and exchange of experience," he stressed. Zhang Wei also added that Kazakhstan and China will partner up to build the Silk Road Economic Belt and step up cooperation in the spheres of economy, trade, industrial production, infrastructural development, finance, science and technologies.