China links Belt and Road plans with Shanghai summit
Beijing has linked last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit with the “spirit” of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), saying President Xi Jinping’s visit to Astana will give impetus to the ambitious connectivity project aiming to link China with Europe and Africa.
The attempt to link the SCO to BRI — in a post-summit speech by foreign minister Wang Yi and in state media articles — could make new member India uneasy. New Delhi became a member of the Beijing-led SCO at the end of the summit last week but that was preceded by the high-profile boycott of the Belt and Road Forum just last month.
India cited “sovereignty” issues over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — a key component of the BRI — passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as the reason behind the boycott.
India was easily the most notable absentee at the forum, attended by nearly 30 heads of state and hundreds of international delegates, where Jinping pledged billions of dollars for projects under the BRI.
But the attempt by China seems to be to link all major mechanisms and initiatives under the BRI, including the SCO, a security bloc launched by Beijing in 2001.
Foreign minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that Xi’s trip to Kazakhstan added “…impetus to the building of the Belt and Road” besides strengthening the “community of shared future and opens up broad prospects for peace and prosperity in the region.”
“This is Xi’s first foreign visit after he presided over the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and also a major diplomatic activity of China in the Eurasia region,” Wang was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.
“This tour embodies the ‘Silk Road Spirit,’ which features peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit,” Wang said, referring to two components of the BRI – the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road.
Xi first talked about the Silk Road Economic Road in Kazakhstan in 2013.