In 1988, UNESCO launched a 10-year project-Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue-under which several expeditions were organized to retrace, by land and by sea, some of these routes.

The basic purpose of the project was to highlight the complex cultural interactions arising from the encounters between East and West, and which helped to shape the rich common heritage of the Eurasian peoples.

Human beings have always moved from place to place (by land or by sea) and traded with their neighbors. Thus, through the ages, the immensity of Eurasia was crisscrossed with communication routes that gradually linked up to form what is known today as the Silk Road.

These vast networks carried more than just merchandise and precious commodities. The constant movement and mixing of populations also brought about the transmission of knowledge, ideas, cultures and beliefs, which had a profound impact on the history and civilizations of the Eurasian peoples, and was the origin of the concept "one humanity and different cultures".

The Belt and Road Initiative is thus a just-in-time initiative.

The dream of global harmony is becoming universal and popular, derived from the fact that the world is now at a crossroads, and has to select one of two alternatives. The first is to continue treading the same way (business as usual), facing a substantial risk of existence.

The second is to make a radical change in the world order toward the establishment of a rules-based global governance, leading to a modified form of globalization and a desired global harmony.

In fact, the destruction to humanity (moral values) and to nature (environment) under current globalization should be a legitimate reason to have global harmony through the sincere dialogue of civilizations and people-to-people connections.

In addition, in the current state of civilization, if compared with older forms, we find that the degree of interdependency is much higher and more complicated, which means that a partial failure can put humans at tremendous risk and may lead to a complete dissolution. For example, the 2008 financial crisis started in the United States but had a damaging global effect.

Therefore, under a world characterized by domination, unilateralism, protectionism and populism, a dream of a new world (or modified globalization) has become a global desire.

The BRI offers a promising model for a community with a shared future for mankind, which in turn serves the core of the initiative.

To help ensure results that lead to common development, down-to-earth approaches should be adopted. Those have been identified by President Xi Jinping on several occasions. They include increasing political and policy dialogue at various levels, ensuring that cooperation delivers real benefits to people's lives, promoting cultural diversity as well as harmony between humans and nature, and enhancing comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.

An excellent example of such a cooperation plan was clearly highlighted by President Xi in his speech during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing in September. The plan that the president announced covers a wide spectrum of topics: industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, healthcare and people-to-people exchanges.

Targets set in the plan are attainable, taking into consideration the status quo of cooperation and the potential.

In addition, the plan adheres to the five priority areas identified by the BRI: policy coordination, facility connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds. This, in turn, ensures that the plan is compatible with the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Finally, it should be emphasized that the world should seize this golden opportunity offered by the BRI as a platform for global cooperation, and work together to create a universal community of shared future for mankind.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.