BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Among the first foreign investors when China started to open up, Thai entrepreneur Dhanin Chearavanont believed the Belt and Road Initiative have unleashed unlimited potential in both Chinese economy and world economy.
"I see unlimited potential. There is no ceiling to this unprecedented initiative," Chearavanont, Chairman of Thailand's largest private company Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Monday.
Chearavanont's CP Group opened a branch in China in the late 1970s when the country just opened up to the world. The group's foreign business license issued by Shenzhen, a pioneering city of China's opening-up policy, was numbered 001.
"When I first came to make big investment in China, some people thought I was crazy. But I turned out to be right," he said.
Chearavanont found himself brimming with even more confidence in the future of China and the world as well after attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing on May 14-15.
Delegates from more than 100 countries and international organizations participated in the event, discussing how to build a more prosperous and inclusive world through the Belt and Road Initiative.
The initiative is a game changer for the world economy, he said, it is a great reform and great innovation that will influence the whole world.
"We live in a changing world and China is taking the lead of the changes," Chearavanont said.
The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes over land and sea.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a new model of international relationship that promotes inclusiveness, mutual benefit and win-win, Chearavanont said.
Chearavanont believes that Thailand will further participate in the initiative, and connecting Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor with the Belt and Road Initiative will bring great opportunities to the less-developed part of Thailand.
"Thailand must develop because it won't be left behind," he said.
Chearavanont also called on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries to take part in the initiative, adding that Chinese investment and market can "absolutely drive up" the economic growth of Southeast Asia.
