BEIJING, March 18. /TASS/. China’s private businesses are interested in involving Crimea in the implementation of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, head of the association of Chinese compatriots on the peninsula Ge Zhili reported on Monday.

"Our organization is bolstering cooperation ties, exchanges and friendly contacts with all the layers of the Crimean society," he said at the event dedicated to the fifth anniversary of Crimea’s reintegration into Russia that was held in the Russian Embassy in Beijing. "To help people understand what Crimea is, start cooperation with it, establish reliable relations with the peninsula, develop friendly contacts with it and implement joint private projects under the Belt and Road Initiative."

Ge Zhili said that the association which he heads is ready to use the "people’s diplomacy" levers available to it in order to contribute to the establishment of "reliable partner ties" and the explanation of legal details of business cooperation with Crimea.

"The Chinese society hopes for the development of friendly cooperation with Crimea; we are ready to overcome difficulties for fruitful results," the head of the association concluded.

The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 in order to galvanize international multilateral trade-investment projects, which would involve as many countries as possible and use both the Chinese and foreign funds. The Russian government has worked on the issue of involving the Eurasian Economic Union in this initiative at all levels of bilateral cooperation with Beijing during the last several years.