NK missile overshadows meet
Nations gather for trade route showcase
BEIJING: China touted its new Silk Road as “a project of the century” at a summit yesterday highlighting its growing leadership on globalisation, but a North Korean missile test cast a shadow on the event.
President Xi Jinping hosted leaders from 29 nations for the two-day summit in Beijing when US and South Korean military officials confirmed that Pyongyang had launched a ballistic missile.
Delegations from North Korea and the United States attended the forum, though not their leaders. Few Western heads of government made the trip.
The summit is showcasing Mr Xi’s cherished One Belt, One Road initiative, a revival of the Silk Road that could cement China’s growing global clout on trade and geopolitics.
“This is indeed a gathering of great minds,” Mr Xi said, addressing leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He pledged to pump an extra US$124 billion in funds into the initiative, calling it “a project of the century” in a “world fraught with challenges”.
The Chinese-bankrolled project seeks to link the country with Africa, Asia and Europe through an enormous network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks.
The initiative spans some 65 countries representing 60% of the world population and around a third of global gross domestic product. The China Development Bank has earmarked $890 billion for some 900 projects.
The project is seen as a practical solution to relieve China’s industrial overcapacity. But it could also serve Beijing’s geopolitical ambitions as Washington retreats into “America First” policies.
While Mr Xi did not mention North Korea during his speech to the delegates, the Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement saying it opposes such missile tests.
It urged all parties to “exercise restraint and refrain from further aggravating the tension in the region”.
North Korea relies heavily on trade with China for its economic survival, and US President Donald Trump has urged Mr Xi to use that leverage to put pressure on Pyongyang.
The White House called on all nations to impose “far stronger sanctions” following the latest test, which came days after South Korea elected a new president.
Sunday’s missile launch “is absolutely an embarrassment to Beijing but it also shouldn’t be overstated”, Christopher Balding, economics professor at Peking University, said.
“This will not overshadow [the summit] in an enormous way but it will absolutely continue to raise US frustrations with Beijing,” he said, adding that Washington was “frustrated” that North Korea was also invited to the summit.
Mr Xi focused on his initiative, boasting it represented a “road for peace”, but he cautioned “all countries should respect each others’ sovereignty”.
He warned that “isolation results in backwardness”.
The new financing that he promised on Sunday includes 100 billion yuan for the Silk Road Fund and lending schemes worth 380 billion yuan. He also urged financial institutions to contribute 100 billion yuan.
Praising Mr Xi’s initiative, Mr Putin warned that “protectionism is becoming the norm”.
“The ideas of openness, trade freedom are rejected more and more, very often by those who were their supporters not so long ago,” he said.