China defends Belt and Road but vows to battle debt

BEIJING (AFP) – China launched on Thursday a staunch defense of its Belt and Road global infrastructure project as it opened a summit with a pledge to ease concerns about debt linked to its signature foreign policy.

President Xi Jinping's pet project is a reboot of the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects.

The initiative offers to bring muchneeded modern infrastructure to developing countries, but the United States has dubbed it a “vanity

project” and critics warn it is a “debt trap” favoring Chinese companies.

Huang Kunming, a member of China's powerful Politburo, said at the opening of the three-day Belt and Road Forum in Beijing that there have been ''some misunderstandings and unfounded rumors'' about BRI that they hope to clear up.

But in a nod to the concerns over loans, Finance Minister Liu Kun said China would release a framework to ''prevent debt risks,'' according to stateowned China Securities Journal.

The ''debt sustainability analysis framework'' encourages Chinese financial institutions and BRI countries to voluntarily improve debt management levels, the report said.

China must properly address ''issues of environmental protection and debt management that the international community pays close attention to,'' said Zheng Zhijie, governor of the China Development Bank.

The state policy bank has doled out much of the Belt and Road-related loans since 2013, with Zheng saying it had extended $190 billion in financing to 600 projects.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde said Liu's announcement and China's increased focus on the long-term success of BRI projects were ''very welcome steps in the right direction.''