Redefining Belt and Road

Govt drafting rules for projects under initiative to clear up confusion

BEIJING: China is drafting rules for overseas investments to be considered part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, according to people familiar with the matter, marking the first attempt to better define his signature policy.

The plan, which isn’t yet final, aims to stop companies from misusing the label “Belt and Road Initiative”, said the people, who asked not to be named as the discussions were private.

Unchecked use of the name on projects has created confusion about the initiative’s scope and damaged its reputation abroad, they said.

One of the people said the National Development and Reform Commission was working on a list of legitimate Belt and Road Initiative projects officially acknowledged by the Chinese government.

It would include state-owned enterprises and private companies, helping the authorities improve regulation of projects, the person said.

China is working to counter growing criticism of Xi’s signature programme as concerns grow that increased debt burdens would leave governments vulnerable to Beijing’s broader strategic goals.

US vice-president Mike Pence warned Asia-Pacific countries in November against taking China’s money.

Governments around Asia are reassessing Chinese investments. Malaysia is in talks with China on a reduced price tag for a US$20bil (RM81.6bil) rail project it scrapped after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took power.

Myanmar scaled back a port deal struck under its previous military regime, while heavily indebted Maldives booted out a pro-China administration last year.

Xi, who will host more than 40 world leaders at the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing later this month, has even seen recent successes tainted by scepticism.

A memorandum of understanding signed last month with Italy – the first Group of Seven nation to join the programme – led Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini to caution that it risked “colonising Italy”.

Xi unveiled his “project of the century” to rebuild ancient trading routes across Eurasia in 2013, and China’s government has since poured billions into his plan from Africa to the South Pacific.

But uncertainty remains about what projects are considered part of the Belt and Road Initiative, turning it into a catch-all for everything Chinese investors do overseas.

“The initiative is better understood as a mission statement rather than a policy document, since it lacks a list of member countries and a precise definition of what a Belt and Road Initiative project is,” said a 2017 report from law firm Baker McKenzie.