China bats for new Silk Road
SNUB TO INDIA? President Xi says all nations should respect others’ territorial integrity, sovereignty
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday pledged billions of dollars for the new Silk Road initiative as he described his signature foreign policy push as inclusive, one that should not be held hostage to old rivalries and power games.
China is hosting at least 29 heads of state, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, for a two-day Belt and Road conference which India has chosen to give a miss. All of India’s neighbours except Bhutan sent high-level delegations, with Sri Lanka represented by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Xi vowed to pump in an extra 100 billion yuan ($14.50 billion) into the existing Silk Road Fund, 380 billion yuan in loans from two policy banks and 60 billion yuan in aid to developing countries and international bodies in countries along the new trade routes. China would also encourage financial institutions to expand their overseas yuan fund businesses to the tune of 300 billion yuan, he said.
“We should build an open platform of cooperation and uphold and grow an open world economy,” Xi said in his inaugural address to the Belt and Road Forum as he also highlighted the importance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the main reason New Delhi stayed away from Beijing’s most important diplomatic event of the year.
The Chinese President, who is positioning himself as a global leader and chief advocate for free trade, seemed to have snubbed India when he said the belt and road initiative respected “territorial integrity”.
“All countries should respect each other’s sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity, each other’s development paths and social systems, and each other’s core interests and major concerns,” Xi told the gathering at the sprawling China Convention Centre.
The CPEC, a cluster of road, rail and energy projects, will connect Pakistan’s southern Gwadar port city on the Arabian Sea and Kashgar in China’s far-western western Xinjiang province. India has reservations about the project as it passes through Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir, which New Delhi says challenges its sovereignty by lending legitimacy to Pakistan’s claim over the territory. “No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity,” ministry of external affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said on Saturday.
“The corridor (CPEC) is a flagship programme of the BRI. The governments of both China and Pakistan attach great importance to it and have actively started preparation for long-term plans,” the document titled Building the Belt and Road: Concept, Practice and China’s contribution said with a rare mention of “flagship” in a Chinese official document. The other BRI projects mentioned in the document were not bestowed the honour.
Describing CPEC as a multi-dimensional infrastructure network, Xi said, “What we hope to create is a big family of harmonious co-existence.”
“In advancing the Belt and Road, we will not re-tread the old path of games between foes. Instead we will create a new model of cooperation and mutual benefit.”
In his speech at the inaugural BRF session, Sharif said the CPEC was a “core” project of the BRI. “In fact, it has been rightly called its flagship because it aims to connect the neighbourhoods of East and West Asia. CPEC makes Pakistan both a conduit and destination for cross-regional investment and trade,” he said.
Sharif indicated what the Chinese have been saying – India is welcome to join the CPEC. “Let me make it very clear that CPEC is an economic undertaking open to all countries in the region. It has no geographical boundaries.”
“It must not be politicised. In implementing this corridor, we are not striving to merely leverage geography for economic prosperity, we are also trying to build a peaceful, connected and caring neighbourhood. It is time we transcend our differences, resolve conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, and leave a legacy of peace for future generations,” Sharif said.
“Unprecedented economic, social and cultural benefits will accrue from the CPEC – not just for the people of Pakistan, but also for the people of the entire region…It is producing new entrepreneurs, creating new jobs and businesses, and attracting international investment.”