China’s Xi says Silk Road plan will boost finance and security ties

BEIJING // The Chinese president called for closer anti-terrorism and financial ties across Asia and Europe on Sunday, as Beijing pledged US$124 billion towards its ambitious Silk Road plan. Xi Jinping said everyone was welcome to join the Belt and Road Initiative in what he envisioned would be a path for peace and prosperity for the world. Speaking to an audience that included Russian president Vladimir Putin and leaders of 29 other countries, Mr Xi outlined the project to build ports, railways and other facilities. It covers an arc of 65 countries reaching from the South Pacific through South and Central Asia to Europe and Africa. The initiative would provide some of the US$7 trillion of investment in infrastructure the Asian Development Bank said the region needs this decade. But governments including Russia, the United States and India are uneasy that China is using its status as the second-largest global economy to expand its political influence. Mr Xi said his government has “no desire to impose our will on others.” He also called for economic integration and cooperation on financial regulation, anti-terrorism and security – all fields in which China’s economic muscle would give it a prominent voice. “We should foster a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and create a security environment built and shared by all,” said Mr Xi. He called for more concerted action against terrorism and what he called its root causes of poverty and social injustice. In a reminder of the potential security threats facing the region, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Sunday that flew for a half-hour and reached an unusually high altitude of 2,000 kilometres. The Belt and Road is Mr Xi’s signature foreign policy initiative. The two-day meeting that started on Sunday gives him a platform to promote his image as a global leader and an advocate of free trade in contrast to US president Donald Trump, who has called for import restrictions. Financing the New Silk Road Mr Xi said Beijing will contribute an additional 100 billion yuan (Dh53bn) to the Silk Road Fund set up in 2014 to finance infrastructure projects. He said his government will provide aid worth 60 billion yuan to developing countries and international organisations. Two Chinese government-run banks also will set up lending facilities valued at a total of 380 billion yuan to support the initiative, Mr Xi said. Speaking after the Chinese president, Mr Putin echoed the theme that economic development would help to nurture political stability. The Russian leader said the rise of trade protectionism is creating a “breeding ground for international extremism and terrorism”. “Russia believes that the future of the Eurasian partnership is not just about fostering ties between a few countries and economies,” said Mr Putin. “It should change the very political and economic landscape of the continent bringing Eurasia stability, prosperity.” Mr Xi said Beijing plans to announce dozens of new investment and other agreements during the two-day event. Delegations Other leaders at the gathering included Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif and the Chilean president Michelle Bachelet. No major western leaders attended, although Britain, France and Germany were represented by top finance officials. Philip Hammond, the UK chancellor of the exchequer, said Britain is a natural partner for China, and as it leaves the European Union, it wants more trade with the world not less. “It is my belief that Britain, lying at the western end of the Belt and Road, is a natural partner in this endeavour. Britain has for centuries been one of the strongest advocates of an open global trading system,” he said. ■ Sultan Al Jaber: 'Belt and Road' is a bridge to our common future The US delegation was led by Matt Pottinger, special assistant to Mr Trump and senior director for East Asia at the National Security Council. The United States and other governments have said Belt and Road is a natural outgrowth of China’s status as the biggest global trader and they welcome the investment. But they also have expressed concern Beijing might undermine human rights and international standards for lending or leave poor countries with too much debt. Most of the Chinese financing is loans, instead of grants. India, which did not send a delegation to Beijing, delivered an implicit criticism of China’s initiative on Saturday in a statement that warned of an “unsustainable debt burden” for the countries involved. Indian foreign ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay said India could not accept a project that compromised its sovereignty. New Delhi is angry that one of the key projects passes through Kashmir and Pakistan. “No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mr Baglay said. Some diplomats and political analysts say Beijing is trying to create a political and economic network centred on China, push the United States out of the region and rewrite rules on trade and security. Mr Xi promised to avoid forming a “small group” of allies, which he said might harm regional stability. Instead, he said, Beijing wants “partnerships of friendship” and a “big family of harmonious coexistence.” * Associated Press and Reuters