BEIJING – China has launched cross-border partnerships with severalinternational non-governmental and civic organizations to create three“green economic belts” in countries involved in the Belt and RoadInitiative including Pakistan.

Three belts will be created using poplar trees, under a plan released bythe China Green Foundation at the Belt and Road International Forum onPublic Cooperation for Ecological Remediation, which was held in Wuwei,Gansu province, the China Daily reported on Friday.The belts are expected to start in Northwest China and connect countries inCentral and West Asia, such as Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Turkey.

“Under the plan, a cooperative partnership will be established to encouragemore exchanges of experience in developing a green economy in differentcountries,” said Chen Shuxian, chairman of the foundation.

Poplar trees now cover about 648,000 hectares worldwide, according to thefoundation. Most of them are located in 17 countries involved in the BRI.

China holds 61 per cent of the world’s total poplar tree forests, whichprovide important economic value to people.

For example, the poplar forest covering an area of 31,840 hectares inHotan, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, generates annual income of 672million yuan ($98 million), according to the National Forestry andGrassland Administration.In Inner Mongolia’s Ejin Banner, residents developed a tourism industrythemed on poplar tree forests, which attracted more than 1.1 milliontourists from home and abroad in 2015 and which has generated 1.4 billionyuan annually.

During the forum, the foundation also announced the launch of aninternational ecological restoration fund, drawn from donations worldwideto promote a green economy in countries involved in the BRI.He said the BRI focuses on a common development, with its goal of achievingwin-win cooperation in line with the 2030 Agenda.

Through the forum and the cooperative mechanism, he said, China can bettershare its experience with civic organizations and collaborate to advanceecological remediation in other countries.