BEIJING -- A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Sunday called for stronger cooperation of Chinese and overseas think tanks to build an intelligent Silk Road.

Countries along the Belt and Road should establish think tank networks and partnerships, said Liu Qibao, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, at a session on think tank exchanges during the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Think tanks should study and plan Belt and Road development against the backdrop of economic globalization, international relations, exchanges between civilizations, and the building of a community of shared future of mankind, and they should provide intelligence support for the Belt and Road development, Liu said.

About 200 people of think tank executives, former politicians and scholars from more than 40 countries attended the session.

Proposed in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative is a grand plan to connect Asia with Europe and Africa along, and beyond, ancient trade routes by putting in place an unparalleled trade and infrastructure network.