BUCHAREST, Sept. 23 -- The Silk Road Community Building Initiative was launched Monday here as part of the joint efforts by China and Romania to build the Belt and Road.

"The Belt and Road is an ambitious initiative that will bring prosperity to the world and a new economic impetus in Romania," said Minister of Economy Nicolae Badalau at the launching ceremony held in the historical Ghica Palace in downtown Bucharest.

He also voiced support for the ensuing cooperation at the local level.

The Silk Road Community Initiative was launched by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE) at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing in April.

It focuses on cultural and people-to-people exchanges and the cooperation in areas concerning people's livelihood within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a China-proposed global development initiative with a focus on infrastructure construction.

Xu Lvping, deputy head of the CNIE, expressed her hope that the Silk Road Community Initiative will help enhance bilateral non-governmental exchanges, local livelihood and the foundation for stronger China-Romania friendship.

Jiang Yu, Chinese ambassador to Romania, said the Silk Road community move adds new elements and impetus to the bilateral BRI cooperation.

Describing the Belt and Road as "an extremely generous initiative, an economic catalyst," Cornel Lozneanu, executive vice president of the Romania-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he believes the Silk Road community to be built "will pave the way for easier and quicker and more useful cooperation among our organizations."

Valeriu Tabara, head of the Romanian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said, "Today's event proves that the Belt and Road means more than asphalt roads, it's about humans and their interactions at all levels."