A total of 29 heads of state, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to participate in the international event.
Despite the fact that the official ceremony of the forum will take place on Sunday, a number of delegations have already arrived in Beijing and held negotiations with their partners from other states, mostly from China. For example, Xi has already met Tsipras, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
After the opening, the officials along with experts and representatives of financial and media institutions from about 130 countries would participate in a number of plenary sessions focusing on infrastructure, trade, investments, as well as on cultural ties.
In 2013, China announced its new strategy of economic development, called "One Belt, One Way," which aims at establishing infrastructure in Eurasia for the creation of a trade corridor between the eastern and western parts of the continent. It encompasses two main directions of development: Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road.