BEIJING -- A total of 24 radio and television entities from countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road on Monday inked a memorandum on broadcast cooperation.

The countries include China, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan.

Cooperation will feature visits by institution leaders, and program, skills and personnel exchange.

China encourages media cooperation along the Belt and Road, and called for the creation of a collaboration mechanism, said Wu Shangzhi, director of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

"Audiences will be exposed to varied culture and news, and increase understanding through broadcasting cooperation," Wu said.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to revive the ancient trade routes between Asia and Europe, break infrastructure bottlenecks and boost efficient allocation of resources.