BEIJING - A US-based group said China's inroads in environmental protection can be of benefit to the countries linked by the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Speaking at a symposium held at Tsinghua University on Wednesday, president of the Environmental Defense Fund Fred Krupp said the Belt and Road Initiative features great prospects for both economic and environmental progress.

The China-proposed initiative, which will combine its modernization with neighboring countries' infrastructure building, will be a vehicle to apply the lessons China has learned regarding sustainability and green process, he said.

Noting China's remarkable progress in this regard in recent years, Krupp said it should become an exporter of ideas as well as of capital. He added that ecological preservation was a common goal across the globe.

His words were echoed by Fang Li, assistant secretary-general of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, an advisory body.

"Environmental protection is a shared consensus among all nations. As a developing country, we understand that in nations involved in the Belt and Road Initiative there exists the contradictory mentality of environmental protection versus development," Fang said.

"We have rich experiences in this regard. We have learned our lessons, which we are willing to share," she said.

Meanwhile, Krupp also said Chinese social groups could play a larger role in future cross-border environmental protection endeavors.

He suggested that social organizations march toward the global platform and call for more international exchanges and cooperation in climate change and ecosystem protection.

The internationalization of Chinese NGOs could be an importance adjunct to China's Belt and Road Initiative, he said.