Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced that the country will expedite the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR), which will strengthen cooperation with the involved countries.

Xinhua quoted Jinping as saying: "We should prepare timetables and road maps for the coming years for the ‘One Belt and One Road’ project.

"We will focus on some significant projects and let the construction of ‘One Belt and One Road’ commence as soon as possible."

Bloomberg recently reported that the Chinese Government was planning to create a $16.3bn fund to build and expand railways, roads and pipelines in Chinese provinces that are part of the planned Silk Road Economic Belt.

"We should prepare timetables and road maps for the coming years for the ‘One Belt and One Road’ project."

Jinping had initiated the Silk Road Economic Belt and the MSR in 2013 and countries, including the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar (BCIM) corridor, were regarded as a part of the Silk Road initiative.

He also added that China would help partner countries with infrastructure projects, including transportation, electricity and telecommunications.

A total of 21 Asian countries signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing on 24 October to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as founding members. AIIB was set up to fund infrastructure constructions along the belt.

Jinping added that the bank, which is headquartered in Beijing, has an authorised capital of $100bn.

Countries that are part of the ‘One Belt and One Road’ project will benefit from the project improving the economy, improving people’s livelihood and tackling crisis. The project will connect economies in Asia Pacific and Europe.