Objector India stays away

NEW DELHI: India has not sent an official delegation to attend the “Belt and Road Forum” in Beijing and instead criticised China’s global initiative, warning of an “unsustainable debt burden” for countries involved.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted dozens of world leaders and senior officials yesterday for the country’s biggest diplomatic showcase of the year, touting his vision of a new “Silk Road” that opens trade routes across the globe.

Government officials from New Delhi did not travel, Indian officials said, although scholars from Indian thinktanks have flown to Beijing to attend some of the meetings at the forum.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay, asked whether New Delhi was participating in the summit, said India could not accept a project that compromised its sovereignty.

India is incensed that one of the key Belt and Road projects passes through Kashmir and Pakistan. The nucleararmed rivals have fought two of their three wars over the disputed region.

“No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mr Baglay said.

He also warned of the danger of debt. One of the criticisms of the Silk Road plan is that host countries may struggle to pay back loans for huge infrastructure projects being carried out and funded by Chinese companies and banks.

“Connectivity initiatives must follow principles of financial responsibility to avoid projects that would create unsustainable debt burden for communities,” Mr Baglay said.

He said India supported greater connectivity across the region and listed the initiatives it was involved in, including highway projects and the North-South corridor in Central Asia, but he said these had to be developed in a transparent manner.