The China-proposed Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative is "positive" for Asian countries, said visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Washington on Wednesday.

This is "our view in Singapore, which is shared by many in the region," Lee said in a discussion here at the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-profit U.S. think tank.

Proposed by China in 2013, the B&R Initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

The initiative was a "coherent framework" within which the Asian countries could participate in, Lee said, adding that the initiative means infrastructure, financing and connectivity.

"There is a lot of business which is to be done," the prime minister of the Southeast Asian country added.

The modern version of the Silk Road comprises an overland Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

In just four years, dozens of countries have joined the initiative, and a series of institutions, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, have been established.

In the discussion, Lee also mentioned that the Asia Pacific region has prospered by doing business with China as well as with the rest of the world.

The B&R Initiative, happening in a way that all the external links stayed open, "is a good thing," Lee said.

Lee is on a six-day visit to the United States starting from Saturday.