Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the effectiveness of his Belt and Road Initiative in a series of separate meetings with world leaders at an international forum on the policy in Beijing.

The Chinese government says representatives from more than 140 countries are attending the two-day gathering, which opened on Tuesday.

China's state-run media have reported the arrival of the leaders of more than 20 countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday, Xi said bilateral ties have maintained a high level of development in recent years. He said he hopes the two countries can share the fruits of this progress through the Belt and Road Initiative.

Xi apparently hopes to stress the benefits of the initiative at a time of growing concerns over China's increasing influence on developing economies that are saddled with ballooning debt. Some experts are calling this a "debt trap."

Meanwhile, Putin met with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong.

Putin is scheduled to meet with Xi on Wednesday in an apparent effort to strengthen bilateral ties as Russia takes an increasingly confrontational stance toward Western nations.