Initiative proves worth as welcome public good

Convening nearly 40 foreign leaders and representatives from more than 150 countries, the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which opens in Beijing on Thursday, testifies to a growing aspiration for collaboration amid rising unilateralism and protectionism.

The conspicuous increase in the size of foreign participation compared with the inaugural forum two years ago corroborates United Nations Secretary-General Ant��nio Guterres' earlier comment that the Belt and Road Initiative, like the UN Millennium Development Goals, is a public good for the entire world.

Since President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in 2013, some people have tried to persistently frame them as geopolitical tools. While such a label and subsequent fearmongering have stirred up worries in the ill-informed, they can't hoodwink those with insight.