HONG KONG -- Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhang Dejiang delivered a keynote speech at the Belt and Road Summit on Wednesday sponsored by the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The following is the full text of Zhang's speech:

Distinguished Guests,

Friends,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. I am much delighted to join you here in Hong Kong to discuss the Belt and Road Initiative. Let me begin by expressing, on behalf of President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government, sincere congratulations on the opening of this summit and a warm welcome and cordial greetings to all our guests and both old and new friends from home and abroad!

In the autumn of 2013, President Xi Jinping raised the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. This Belt and Road Initiative has drawn wide attention and gained positive response from the international community. The Belt and Road Initiative responds to the call of the times for world peace and development, and meets the need of all countries for faster development.

It will contribute to economic development of countries along the routes and global prosperity as well as people-to-people exchanges and world peace. The Belt and Road development is a profound endeavor to carry forward the historical heritage and jointly create a brighter future.

Over 2,000 years ago, there were already interactions between the two ends of the Eurasian continent, and that was when the ancient Silk Road began. The road had taken shape by the time of the Qin and Han dynasties of China, and was most prosperous during the Sui and Tang dynasties. During the Tang and Song dynasties, our ancestors developed advanced navigation techniques, and successfully opened up the Silk Road on the Sea that extended all the way to the West.

Through bustling trade, the countries along that route brought their civilizations closer and lived in peace and prosperity. This period of history gives us something we should carry forward, i.e. the open and inclusive spirit of the Silk Road for peace, mutual learning and win-win cooperation. To maintain sound development of the Chinese economy and realize the "two centenary goals", China must be more open to the world in the future.

The Belt and Road Initiative answers the call of our times for joint response to risks and joint efforts to strengthen global economic recovery. Development is a major issue facing the world. The shadow of the international financial crisis is not far behind, and the world economic recovery lacks momentum. To avert risks and boost recovery, countries must cooperate in good faith to build up synergy.

The Belt and Road Initiative will boost mutual investment and trade between China and countries along the routes, facilitate connectivity between those countries and support their pursuit of a new-type of industrialization. The initiative will also promote common development and bring real benefits to the peoples along the routes, thus giving positive energy and new impetus to world economic recovery.

The Belt and Road Initiative meets the needs for coordinated development of different regions and a new development pattern that brings shared benefits. Stretching along the Eurasian Continent and having connectivity on its agenda, the Belt and Road links up more tightly the prospering East Asian economies and the highly developed European economies at the two ends. This will galvanize growth of the vast interior of the Eurasian continent.

The initiative can also encourage the countries along the routes to jointly create growth opportunities and share development fruits. The Belt and Road Initiative helps to find the common interests between China and countries along the routes, while addressing different needs. The initiative thus better coordinates development strategies and will contribute to the building of an inclusive and balanced regional cooperation framework that delivers benefits for all. Such an initiative can therefore better serve the fundamental interests of the mankind.

The Belt and Road Initiative is an important move to enhance friendship between countries and promote mutual learning between different civilizations. In history, the ancient Silk Road was not only a route of trade, but also a path of friendship that facilitated the dialogue and mutual learning between different civilizations.

The vast land along the ancient Silk Road was home to important cradles of human civilization. From the Yellow River to the Ganges, from the Nile to the blue Mediterranean, the flowers of ancient civilizations had bloomed in the course of mutual learning and became the shared memory of countries along the routes. The virtues of our ancestors must be cherished and kept alive.

Today, in a world where the economy and society have developed like unseen before, we, the builders of this global village, have every reason and the responsibility to increase exchanges and mutual learning between our peoples.

Let us carry on our civilization of glory into the future. The friendship between peoples is the foundation of state to state relations. The Belt and Road Initiative will advance both economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, promote the friendly interactions between the peoples of China and countries along the routes, and expand practical cooperation in culture, education, arts, science and technology, tourism, health and sports.

This will enhance mutual recognition, mutual understanding and mutual respect between peoples along the routes and lay a solid popular basis for the building of the Belt and Road and world peace and development.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a major move of China to pursue all dimensional opening-up under the new historical circumstances. It will align China's development with that of the countries along the routes, and combine the Chinese Dream and the dream of their peoples.

China is the initiator, but this is not a one man's show. The Belt and Road Initiative is about win-win cooperation and common development, not a solo performance or a zero-sum game. The Belt and Road are not private exclusive roads but wide and open avenues for us all.