China’s Xi promotes Silk Road plan
Asia, Europe ties central to effort
BEIJING — Pledging more than $100 billion in financing, Chinese President Xi Jinping called Sunday for closer cooperation across Asia and Europe in fields from anti-terrorism to investment as leaders from 29 countries gathered to promote a Chinese initiative that could increase Beijing’s global influence.
The “Belt and Road Initiative,” likened to the ancient Silk Road, calls for building ports, railways and other facilities in a vast arc of 65 countries. Other countries welcome the investment, but governments including the United States, Russia and India have expressed unease that Beijing might also be using the effort to increase its political stature.
Speaking before an audience that included Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi said his government has “no desire to impose our will on others.” But he called for “economic integration” and cooperation on financial regulation, anti-terrorism and security — fields in which China’s heft as the world’s No. 2 economy would make it a dominant player.
“We should foster a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security,” said Xi. He called for steppedup action against terrorism and what he called its root causes of poverty and social injustice.
The “Belt and Road” is Xi’s signature foreign policy initiative. The two-day meeting that started Sunday gives the Chinese president a platform to promote his image as a global leader and free trade advocate in contrast to President Donald Trump, who has called for import restrictions.
China is hardly the first government to promote regional trade links. Japan has given billions of dollars in grants and low-cost loans to Southeast Asian nations to build ports and other facilities, and governments including South Korea have launched trade initiatives. But Beijing’s effort is the most ambitious and is backed by China’s financial muscle and status as the biggest global trader.
Chinese officials have said previously that “Belt and Road” is purely commercial, though Xi’s comments Sunday indicated that Beijing sees it as including a broad array of regulatory and other coordination with potentially far-reaching consequences.
Some diplomats and political analysts say Beijing is trying to create a political and economic network centered on China, push the United States out of the region and rewrite rules on trade and security. The United States and Japan, which Beijing sees as rivals for influence in Asia, are not part of “Belt and Road.”
A U.S. delegation was attending the meeting, led by Matt Pottinger, special assistant to Trump and senior director for East Asia at the National Security Council.
Pottinger spoke in the afternoon at a side event at the forum, where he stressed the importance of private-sector participation in major infrastructure projects, according to remarks released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. He was due to meet today with Chinese officials and representatives of U.S. companies looking at potential “Belt and Road” opportunities.