NGOs foster goodwill, emotional ties along Belt, Road

Chinese nongovernmental groups have sowed seeds of goodwill across countries involved in China's signature Belt and Road Initiative as they seek stronger emotional ties with participants, according to the China NGO Network for International Exchanges.

The network, which was founded in 2005, said 20 of its 265 members worked with their counterparts in Cambodia last year in the latest efforts to promote humanitarian exchanges in BRI strongholds worldwide.

The 20 groups involved cover sectors including healthcare and education. Among the 11 agreements ironed out last year with local NGOs was a program called Xingfu Quan (translated as Spring of Happiness), which will see 200 deep wells drilled in the country's arid regions, the network said.