BEIJING -- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an initiative for common development and also for protecting human rights, said a white paper on Thursday.

The white paper on the practice of the Communist Party of China in respecting and protecting human rights was released by the State Council Information Office.

The initiative could help lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty, the white paper cited a World Bank study as saying.

It could boost trade by 2.8 to 9.7 percent for the corridor economies, and by 1.7 to 6.2 percent for the world, said the white paper, adding that global real income could increase by 0.7 to 2.9 percent.