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BEIJING Cubs Jake Arrieta Jersey , May 14 (Xinhua) - Chinese President Xi Jinping onSunday proclaimed the Silk Road spirit, saying it has become agreat heritage of human civilization.

Spanning thousands of miles and years, the ancient silk routesembody the spirit of ""peace and cooperation, openness andinclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit,"" he said.

Xi made the remarks when delivering a keynote speech at theopening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for InternationalCooperation in Beijing.

When expounding the spirit of peace and cooperation, he recalledZhang Qian's well-known journey to the Western regions.

In China's Han Dynasty around 140 B.C., Zhang, a royal emissary,left Chang'an [Xi'an nowadays] and traveled westward on a missionof peace, opening an overland route linking the East and theWest.

Centuries later, in the years of Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties,such silk routes, both over land and at sea, boomed. Greatadventurers, including Du Huan of China, Marco Polo of Italy andibn Batutah of Morocco, left their footprints along these ancientroutes.

In the early 15th century, Zheng He, a famous Chinese navigatorin the Ming Dynasty, made seven voyages to the Western Seas, whichXi lauded as ""a feat which still is remembered today.""

""These pioneers won their place in history not as conquerorswith warships, guns or swords. Rather, they are remembered asfriendly emissaries leading camel caravans and sailingtreasure-loaded ships,"" Xi said. ""Generation after generation, thesilk routes travelers have built a bridge for peace and East-Westcooperation.""

The ancient silk routes, spanning the valleys of the Nile, theTigris and Euphrates, the Indus and Ganges, and the Yellow andYangtze Rivers, are also regarded as an emblem of openness andinclusiveness.

The routes connected the birthplaces of the Egyptian,Babylonian, Indian and Chinese civilizations as well as the landsof Buddhism, Christianity and Islam and homes of people ofdifferent nationalities and races, Xi said.

They enabled people of various civilizations, religions andraces to ""interact with and embrace each other with open mind"" andfoster a spirit of mutual respect, he said.

""This part of history shows that civilization thrives withopenness and nations prosper through exchange,"" he stressed.

Not for trade only, the ancient silk routes also boosted flow ofknowledge, which Xi valued as the spirit of mutual learning.

Through these routes, Chinese silk, porcelain, lacquerwork andironware were shipped to the West, while pepper, flax, spices,grape and pomegranate entered China.

In addition, Buddhism, Islam and Arab astronomy, calendar andmedicine found their way to China, while China's four greatinventions and silkworm breeding spread to other parts of theworld.

""More importantly, the exchange of goods and know-how spurrednew ideas,"" Xi noted.

""For example, Buddhism originated in India, blossomed in Chinaand was enriched in Southeast Asia. Confucianism, which was born inChina, gained appreciation by European thinkers such as Leibniz andVoltaire,"" he said. ""Herein lies the appeal of mutuallearning.""

Xi also pointed out that the ancient silk routes, whichwitnessed the bustling scenes of visits and trade over land andships calling at ports, bear the spirit of mutual benefit.

""Along these major arteries of interaction, capital, technologyand people flowed freely, and goods, resources and benefits werewidely shared,"" he said.

He listed the ancient cities of Alma-Ata, Samarkand andChang'an, ports of Sur and Guangzhou, the Roman Empire, Parthia andKushan Kingdoms, as well as Han and Tang Dynasties of China, asflags of prosperity boosted by the routes.

""History is our best teacher,"" Xi said. ""The glory of theancient silk routes shows that geographical distance is notinsurmountable.""

""If we take the first courageous step towards each other, we canembark on a path leading to friendship, shared development, peace,harmony and a better future,"" he said. Enditem

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by Bosun Awoniyi

LAGOS， Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria is working hard to grow its non-oil economy as a 2.06-percent decline year on year in second quarter GDP indicates reliance on oil as the bulwark of its economy spells trouble.

A report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday showed that the economy had nosedived following rising inflation for years.

Over a month ago， the government said the economy was in a "technical" recession.

But the NBS data Wednesday confirmed the nation's worst economic recession in over a decade. Consumer Price Index (CPI)， which measures inflation， rose to 17.1 percent in July from 16.5 percent in June.

Speaking after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja， Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun described the country as being in its "worst possible time"， but stressed there is a silver lining.

"We know that if we can just bear and get through this difficult period. Nigeria is going to be better for it，" she added.

The minister dismissed the insinuation that those managing the nation's economy were running out of ideas and confused.

"We are not confused; the time is confusing but we are not confused. We are extremely focused，" Adeosun said in reaction to the NBS report.

"If we rely on oil， and the price of oil remains low and the quantity of oil remains low， we can't grow. We have to grow our non-oil economy，" she told reporters.

Tony Ejinkeonye， President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry， said this is really not a good time for the country， as economic recession has led to unemployment， lower wages and incomes， as well as lost opportunities.

Education， private capital investments， and economic opportunity were all likely to suffer in the current downturn， Ejinkeonye said.

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