The BRI plays an important role in the practice of building a community of shared future for mankind, said guest speaker Zhao Baige, chairperson of the Advisory Committee of the Belt and Road International Think Tank at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Zhao said the world is changing significantly in the current Fourth Industrial Revolution's wave. The change is happening parallel with the evolution of a new form of globalization, in which the Belt and Road plays an important role driving the process, said Zhao.

For further high-quality, sustainable development of BRI, Zhao proposed three suggestions: respecting laws and regulations; taking a people-centered approach; ensuring BRI projects' fiscal sustainability.

The idea of joining BRI was well received in Serbia, said Ivona Ladjevac, head of the center for the Belt & Road at the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade, adding that the initiative is an "open, inclusive platform for development".