President Xi Jinping welcomed about 200 Kazakh youngsters to Beijing on Tuesday as the university students began to retrace the ancient Silk Road, which has given the two countries centuries of close ties.

The students' visit is one of the cultural exchange programs that Xi has promoted since China created a strategy to revitalize the trade and personal ties between China, Central Asia and Europe, through which the ancient Silk Road ran about 2,000 years ago.

The young guests are from Kazakhstan's Nazarbayev University, where Xi made a speech on China's Central Asia strategy in September and proposed for the first time that China and Central Asian countries build an "economic belt along the Silk Road".

It is a trans-Eurasian project spanning from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea, inhabited by nearly 3 billion people and representing the largest market in the world.

Observers said the plan will revitalize the Eurasian region's inland civilizations, a development necessary for the stability and development of China's vast western region.

After having a photo taken with the students and teachers, Xi told them the ancient Silk Road connected the two nations more than 2,000 years ago, and people in the two countries are born with a sense of closeness.

Underscoring that bilateral ties lay the cornerstone on exchanges, Xi said he hopes the Kazakh students can learn more about the true China and become the builders of Sino-Kazakh friendship.

The delegation will visit Beijing, Shanghai and the ancient city of Xi'an, which was an important juncture of the ancient Silk Road.

"If you are to understand the China with 3,000 years of history, you should visit Xi'an. If you are to understand the China with 1,000 years of history, you should visit Beijing, and if you are to understand the China with 100 years of history, you should visit Shanghai," Xi explained to them with a smile.

Despite the achievement, Xi said, "We know where our shortcomings are, and there is still a long road to pursue. We will continue to be modest and cautious and make persistent efforts."

Part of the ancient Silk Road, a corridor for trade and cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe that dates back 2,000 years, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on Sunday.

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