Russian President Vladimir Putin talks about China's Belt and Road Initiative in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) on October 15, 2023. Photo: Snapshot from CMG.

Some perceive the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as China's attempt to crush someone under itself, but it's not the truth, the BRI is a desire to cooperate on the global arena, said Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with China Media Group (CMG).

According to the interview video released by CMG on Sunday, when asked about the actual changes brought to the global development by the BRI in the past ten years, Putin said that in his opinion, the main advantage of the cooperation concept proposed by China is that no one imposes anything on others within the framework of cooperation.

"All work is an exploration within the framework. It's not only the seeking of acceptable solutions, but also the searching for projects and methods which all parties can accept to achieve common goals," said Putin.

Putin emphasized that China's unique feature in building relations with other countries is that "No one imposes or forces anything on anyone" and that China always positively figures out solutions even if problems arise, which is the difference between the BRI and other projects implemented by some countries with colonialist undertones.

Putin is due to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation which will be held from October 17 to 18 in Beijing. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, representatives from over 130 countries and 30 international organizations will attend the forum, of which the total output is expected to surpass that of the previous two forums in 2017 and 2019.

The BRI is a plan for global infrastructure and energy networks that China launched in 2013 to connect Asia with Africa and Europe through land and maritime routes.

According to a white paper released by China's State Council Information Office on Tuesday, by June 2023, China had signed more than 200 BRI agreements with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations across five continents. From 2013 to 2022, the cumulative value of imports and exports between China and BRI partner countries was about $19.1 trillion.