WHO GOT WHAT FROM THE ONE BELT ONE ROAD (OBOR) SUMMIT

Matt Pottinger, special Assistant to US President Donald Trump and senior director for East Asia of National Security Council of the White House, led the US delegation. The two sides clinched a trade agreement that will boost shipments of American liquefied natural gas, beef, other products to China. In turn, Chinese banks and poultry will get access to the US market.

Many countries sealed deals at the summit. Malaysia signed nine memoranda of understanding and agreements, including new commercial deals worth more than $7.22 billion — the biggest was $3.46-billion to set up a robotic hub in Johor.

Indonesia signed three pacts, including a loan worth $4.48 billion from the China Development Bank for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project.

The Singapore national development minister said Singapore could play a complementary role in financing projects, particularly those in South-east Asia. Singapore could join Hong Kong and London in facilitating lending to major infrastructure projects aimed at improving connectivity between China and countries along the trade routes linking Asia, Africa and Europe.

Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said China had committed $9 billion to projects in the Philippines. As that was short of the $167 billion needed, Manila would look for other sources of funding.

British Chancellor Philip Hammond said London could pay a key role in financing OBOR.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used the occasion to criticise the US. “Protectionism is becoming the new normal,” Putin warned, adding that the “ideas of openness and free trade are increasingly often being rejected (even) by those who until very recently expounded them”.