BISHKEK, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The alignment of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) reflects the demands of the times, demonstrates the consistency of cooperation concepts between China and Eurasian countries, and creates valuable opportunities for regional development, officials and experts have said.

"Russia, together with its partners in the union, is working with China within the framework of aligning the EAEU development plans with the Belt and Road Initiative," Alexey Fadeev, deputy director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said at a briefing earlier this week.

Johnny Melikyan, a senior expert at the Orbeli Analytical Research Center, gave a positive assessment of the current interaction between the union and the initiative, saying that it has already entered the stage of practical implementation of joint infrastructure, transport and digital projects.

"The coordinated work on market integration, in particular in the field of forming common markets for gas, oil and oil products, as well as digitalization of freight rail transportation, is directly linked to the initiative, creating conditions for increasing trade flows and increasing mutual competitiveness," he added.

A meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was held in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata on Thursday and Friday. The agenda included strengthening the economic potential of the union's member states, boosting mutual trade, improving living standards, and removing barriers in the union's common market.

"Speaking about the results of the conjugation of the EAEU and the Belt and Road, the most important thing is improving the quality of life of our citizens," Aliaksei Egorov, rector of the Belarus State University of Economics, told Xinhua. "We see the results of the colossal improvement of the Chinese economic system. This model should be studied and adapted to the conditions of the Eurasian space."

The Eurasian Economic Commission also highlighted the growing importance of cooperation with China.

"The comprehensive development of trade and economic relations with the People's Republic of China is one of the priorities of the EAEU trade policy," the commission told Xinhua. "A promising direction is the alignment of strategic documents of the EAEU and China in areas of mutual interest, including transport, logistics and digitalization."

"We consider the link between the Belt and Road Initiative and the EAEU as an important component of the strategic partnership between our countries," Fadeev emphasized, adding that the initiative is in line with Russian ideas to create an open integration circuit on the Eurasian continent, where free trade and labor mobility will be ensured and modern infrastructure established.

Kyrgyz economist Iskender Sharsheev emphasized that the alignment offers the union's countries an opportunity to strengthen their role as a transit hub, diversify sales markets and expand technological cooperation.

"In practice, it has accelerated land corridors from China to Europe across Eurasia, boosted container and refrigerated logistics, and made border crossings more predictable," Sharsheev said. Enditem