– The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation opened in Beijing, China on May 14.The event was attended by high-level leaders from 29 nations, the United Nations Secretary General, the President of the World Bank (WB), the Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).The Vietnamese delegation was headed by President Tran Dai Quang.The two-day forum, under the theme “Belt and Road: Cooperation for Common Prosperity” will have the Leader Roundtable, and high-level dialogues among ministers, enterprises and scholars.Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh is scheduled to join the discussion about trade connectivity; Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung will attend the talks on policy connectivity; and President of the Vietnam – China Friendship Association Nguyen Xuan Thang will participate in the dialogue on people-to-people exchanges.Addressing the opening ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China will pour an additional 100 billion CNY (14.5 billion USD) into the Belt and Road initiative.According to the National Development and Reform Commission of China, the country’s investment in projects related to the initiative has totaled 60 billion USD since 2013. Most of China’s upcoming overseas investment will go to the initiative’s member nations.Once completion, the Belt and Road Initiative is expected to create a large economic and trade network, covering a region with 4.4 billion people, the combined GDP of 21 trillion USD.The forum will close on May 15 with the release of a Joint Statement of the Leader Roundtable.-VNA </s> India on Saturday ruled out participation in China’s mega One Belt One Road summit in Beijing, citing its objections to the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, that passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

In a statement, a day ahead of the launch of the two-day summit in Beijing, India said that “Guided by our principled position in the matter, we have been urging China to engage in a meaningful dialogue on its connectivity initiative, ‘One Belt, One Road’ which was later renamed as ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. We are awaiting a positive response from the Chinese side.

“Regarding the so-called ‘China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’, which is being projected as the flagship project of the BRI/OBOR, the international community is well aware of India’s position. No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity.” </s> The two-day forum in Beijing is an opportunity for China to explain to other countries its grand vision to revive and expand the Silk Road trade routes, and help fund developing countries' infrastructure projects to boot

BEIJING, China – It’s been touted as China’s premiere economic and foreign policy event of the year.

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, to be hosted by President Xi Jinping himself and attended by 28 other leaders, will take place from May 14 to 15 in Beijing.

Events will take place in various venues, including the China National Convention Center in Beijing Olympic Park, Great Hall of the People, and the Yanqi Lake International Convention Center.

What’s this forum all about? Here are some bite-sized facts for you.

Belt and Road Initiative – The forum is where China explains to other countries its Belt and Road Initiative, a grand strategy to revive and expand the ancient Silk Road trade routes. The Chinese government defines it as a "China-proposed trade and infrastructure plan connecting Asia with Europe and Africa." It was first announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013. (READ: FAST FACTS: China's Belt and Road Initiative)

Two components – The BRI is composed of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Road, hence, “belt” and “road.” The “belt” is mainly a land-based trade route while the “road” involves a sea route connecting archipelagic countries.

65 countries, 3 continents, billions of dollars – The belt and road aims to connect countries of Asia, Europe, and Africa to each other primarily through infrastructure projects to be funded, in part or in whole, by China. These ports, roads, railways, and bridges will connect all countries who wish to be part of the “belt” and “road.”

50 cooperation documents – This is the number of cooperation documents on infrastructure projects expected to be signed during the Belt and Road Forum, according to Chinese officials. Before the forum, China already signed 46 cooperation agreements with 39 countries and regions interested in the BRI.

28 visiting heads of government – The list of confirmed heads of state and government attending the forum include Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and several European and Southeast Asian leaders. They will take part in two Leaders’ Roundtable Summits both taking place on Monday, May 15.

Around 30 ministers, senior officials – Some countries, like the United States, France, Iran, and Germany, will not be represented by heads of state or government. Instead, their delegations will be led by ministers, ambassadors, or other high-level officials. For the US, it will be National Security Council senior director for Asia Matthew Pottinger. For Germany, it will be Minister of Economic Affairs Brigitte Zypries. Even North Korea is sending a representative – Kim Yong-jae, Minister of External Economic Relations, according to South Korean news reports.

Over 80 leaders of international groups – The list includes United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

1,500 participants – Aside from leaders, members of the academe, journalists, and business leaders are expected to participate in the forum.

Addressing criticism for Belt and Road Initiative – The Belt and Road Forum is an opportunity for China to explain the BRI more comprehensively to countries who remain wary of the project and China’s intentions. Some countries say the BRI is too “China-centric” and designed to benefit only China, to the possible detriment of other countries.

This criticism is said to be one reason why China changed the program’s original name, which was “One Belt, One Road Initiative.” They dropped the use of “one” which appeared to indicate China’s dominance in the initiative.

China has sought to allay such fears, saying the initiative will only take flight if championed by other countries. Thus, they avoid language that puts China at its center.

State-run newspaper China Daily, for instance, defined the BRI as an initiative that “aims to expand connections between Asia and the rest of the world.” – Rappler.com </s> In what is being called a major geostrategic initiative, China on Sunday inaugurated the two-day Belt and Road summit in Beijing.

The meeting called the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) is being attended by 29 heads of state and governments including Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe, besides official delegations from other South Asian countries.

Leaders and officials from various countries including Russia, US, Japan, UK, Germany and France are attending the meeting.

India, on the other hand, has decided to boycott the multi-nation economic project, which is pegged at $1 trillion. New Delhi is protesting the controversial economic corridor's transversing through the disputed territory of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

With the economic corridor creating a flutter across the world media, here is what different world leaders had to say about it.

Nawaz Sharif



 Sharif said that the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was an economic project open to all nations in the region and it "must not be politicised", in an apparent reference to India.

As CPEC is closely linked to OBOR, Sharif also spoke on the larger economic corridor.

"The fact is that OBOR belongs to all of us, those who are participating in it and those who are not as yet. Obor has truly become a global community. As Obor unfolds across continents we see it fostering inclusion, creating tolerance and promoting acceptance of cultural diversity," he said.

Nepal's deputy prime minister Prakash Sharan Mahat hailed the OBOR initiative of the Chinese government.

"The Chinese president's announcement to contribute an additional 100 billion yuan (around $14.5 billion) to the Silk Road Fund is a piece of good news for neighboring countries like Nepal that have recently joined the Belt and Road Initiative," Mahat said.

The foreign minister added that Nepal wishes to receive more investments from China to develop inter-connectivity and infrastructure projects within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Sunday and reportedly extended his support to the initiative.

"It will be an initiative that would put an end to terrorism. This cooperation model would be beneficial for everyone," Erdogan said at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation earlier in the day," Erdogan was quoted by Sputnik News as saying.

Vladimir Putin



 Russian president Vladimir Putin praised the initiative while addressing the gathering at the summit.

"We welcome China’s One Belt, One Road initiative. By proposing this initiative, President Xi Jinping has demonstrated an example of a creative approach toward fostering integration in energy, infrastructure, transport, industry and humanitarian collaboration, about which I have just talked at length," Putin said.

Alexis Tsiparis



 Greek prime minister Alexis Tsiparis is one of the few western leaders to grace the occasion. He said, "In these times, when the temptation is great to respond to the crisis of globalisation by increasing isolation, and by raising walls, this initiative highlights a vision of connectivity, cooperation and dialogue across Europe and Asia but also other parts of the world."

President Maithripala Sirisena as well as his prime minister Wickremesinghe have been vocal supporters of the deal.

In April 2016, Wickramasinghe had said, "Both Sri Lanka and China are deepening reforms, in the process of which we see huge potential for cooperation. "Sri Lanka is ready to seek more economic cooperation opportunities with China."

Sirisena in February 2017 had assured full support to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on his maritime silk route which is an intrinsic part of the OBOR.

British finance minister Philip Hammond said London was "ready to work with all Belt and Road partner countries to make a success of this initiative".

German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries called for transparency to ensure that the calls for investment bids are "non-discriminatory". </s> India on Saturday refused to be a part of China's One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative citing its objections to the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, that passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Citing the CPEC that is being touted as a flagship part of OBOR, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said: "No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity."

In a statement, a day ahead of the launch of the two-day summit in Beijing, he said: "Guided by our principled position in the matter, we have been urging China to engage in a meaningful dialogue on its connectivity initiative, 'One Belt, One Road' which was later renamed as ‘Belt and Road Initiative'.

"We are awaiting a positive response from the Chinese side.

"Regarding the so-called 'China-Pakistan Economic Corridor', which is being projected as the flagship project of the BRI/OBOR, the international community is well aware of India's position. No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity."

China is organising the two-day Belt and Road conference in Beijing starting Sunday which will be attended by 29 Heads of State including Russian President Vladimir Putin and a US delegation, and see the participation of over 100 countries.

India's non-participation comes as the top leadership of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Myanmar are attending, while Bangladesh and Nepal are sending high-level delegations. Bhutan is not attending.

On Friday, Nepal officially inked a deal with China on OBOR for development of cross-border connectivity.

The $46-billion CPEC is part of OBOR, Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy initiative.

New Delhi firmly opposes this corridor of Beijing's project linking Xinjiang in China and the Gwadar port in Pakistan because it passes through Pakistani-administered Kashmir. India lays claim to the disputed region.

The general view was that India attending the forum might amount to surrendering its claim over the region.

However, Beijing has repeatedly sought to allay New Delhi's fears, saying China will not change its position on the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. Beijing terms the dispute as bilateral.

Citing other problems, Baglay said: "We are of firm belief that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality.

"Connectivity initiatives must follow principles of financial responsibility to avoid projects that would create unsustainable debt burden for communities; balanced ecological and environmental protection and preservation standards; transparent assessment of project costs; and skill and technology transfer to help long term running and maintenance of the assets created by local communities. Connectivity projects must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Noting India shares the international community's desire for enhanced physical connectivity and believes that it should bring greater economic benefits to all in an equitable and balanced manner," Baglay said it was "working with many countries and international institutions in support of physical and digital connectivity in our own immediate and near neighbourhood".

He said that expansion and strengthening of connectivity was an integral part of India's economic and diplomatic initiatives and referred to New Delhi's Act East policy that focuses on the 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the Trilateral Highway project underway to link India, Myanmar and Thailand.

Baglay said that under New Delhi's Go West strategy, it engaged with Iran on the Chabahar Port and with Iran and other partners in Central Asia on the International North South Transport Corridor. India, Iran, and Afghanistan have signed a trilateral agreement to develop the Chabahar port that will will be vital to link south and central Asia.

He also referred to the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) motor transport agreement saying it is an initiative that is aimed at enhancing logistics efficiencies in the South Asian region.

"We are also actively considering acceding to TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers or International Road Transports) Convention," he said. The TIR Convention establishes an international customs transit system. </s> The Belt and Road Initiative is a grand ambitious plan to connect Asia with Europe and Africa along, and beyond, ancient trade routes by putting in place an unparalleled trade and infrastructure network. It was proposed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. Some describe Xi’s scheme as the biggest development push in history. It can turn out to be the largest ever infrastructure project requiring nearly a trillion- dollar investment across the globe. By some estimates, China plans to pump $150.billion into such projects each year.

As per reports, there are plans for pipelines and a port in Pakistan, bridges in Bangladesh and railways to Russia — what China calls a “modern Silk Road”. Other high-profile schemes include a $1.1 billion port project in Sri Lanka, a high-speed rail link in Indonesia and an industrial park in Cambodia.

So far, the initiative has won support from more than 100 countries and international organisations, of which over 40 have signed cooperation agreements with China.

A total of 29 foreign heads of state and government leaders are attending the ongoing Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Other delegates at the forum include officials, entrepreneurs, financiers and journalists from over 130 countries, and representatives of key international organisations. India skipped the meet. </s> Chinese premier Li Keqiang waves as he arrives for a news conference following the closing of the First Session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 20, 2018. Li will be holding a trilateral summit with Japanese and South Korean leaders in early May. Photo: Bloomberg </s> China wants 'new Silk Road' One Belt One Road project to help it dominate world trade

Updated

The Chinese Government has opened a two-day summit in the capital Beijing to consolidate its massive global development project called One Belt One Road, or the New Silk Road project.

President Xi Jinping will host 28 world leaders and representatives from another 70 countries to sell his hugely ambitious signature project.

The plan is to build a vast network of new trade routes across the globe, multiple high-speed rail networks to penetrate Europe, massive ports across Asia and Africa and a series of free-trade zones.

Closer to home, it will cement Chinese influence in the Pacific in countries like East Timor, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

China is going to spend up to a trillion dollars on infrastructure projects and hopes to bind more than 65 countries and two thirds of the world's population to its economy.

Economists have likened the project to a modern day Marshall Plan — which helped secure the US as the world's superpower after World War II — but it's much bigger.

In today's terms, the US only spent about $130 billion on the Marshall Plan. China is hoping to spend much more.

It is an attempt by the Chinese to secure global dominance at a time when the United States is stepping back, and on the domestic front to keep growth and wealth strong for decades to come.

China's aim is to lift trade by $2.5 trillion in a decade by flooding world markets with cheap, high-quality Chinese goods.

It is empire-building on a scale the world has not seen before.

Professor Wang Yiwei from the China and Globalisation think tank said: "After Trump took power, he stopped the TPP and became isolationist".

"China is the biggest rising power and we welcome other countries along with us to achieve our great rejuvenation, our China dream," he said.

Modern efficiency for ancient trade routes

The One Belt One Road project is already in action at the industrial hub of Chongqing in southern China.

In its massive logistics centre, containers are moved 24 hours a day onto trains that move Chinese goods like iPads and car parts west into Central Asia, Russia and Europe.

The trains, which are 2 kilometres long, travel 12,000 kilometres to reach distribution points in Germany in just 13 days, reviving ancient trade routes with modern efficiency.

Spokeswoman for the Chongqing Logistics City, Gu Xin, said the trains were a game changer in providing reliable, secure and cheap access to world markets.

"The new trade routes will bring more business and big international companies here. It will open southern China and Chongqing to the world," she said.

Car company Lifan at Chongqing is producing exactly the kind of products China wants to push onto the world markets.

Every two minutes a high-quality SUV comes off the assembly line and they retail at just $12,000.

They are already exporting to 30 countries and Lifan president Mu Gang said they were successful because they focused on innovation and responded quickly to consumer needs and demands.

"Technology-wise, design, workmanship, quality — all those kinds of things are a system, a comprehensive system in our company and the way we do things," he said.

Lifan is also the model company for the One Belt One Road initiative. It is privately owned and driven by the needs of the market, not the demands of the state.

Mu Gang said the moribund state-owned enterprises in China would have to reorientate if the plan was to be successful.

"There is a joke here in China: state-owned enterprises only care for the mayor, and the privately-owned enterprises, we are focused entirely on the market. It is completely different," he said.

Challenges in and out of China

The city of Chongqing has already seen the benefits of One Belt One Road. It has economic growth rates of 11 per cent — almost double the national average.

It is hoped that what is happening in Chongqing is just the beginning.

But there are huge challenges ahead if success in Chongqing is to be replicated.

"China is a Communist state run by a hierarchical leadership and many of the Western countries are democratic and opposition parties can have different plans," Professor Wang said.

He said coordination and planning would be difficult.

The countries along One Belt One Road are a mix of cultures and systems. Some are not market economies and half are Islamic with different laws. Some, such as Turkey and Egypt, are unstable so it is harder to build and maintain projects.

Other critics, like Tom Miller from Gavekal Dragonomics who recently published a book on the subject, said the massive project lacked definition and detail.

Jorge Wuttke, the president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, wrote in the Financial Times that he feared the trade could all be one-way.

He said for it to be a success, China would have to truly open its markets and lift regulatory barriers or One Belt One Road would be in danger of becoming a huge white elephant.

"We are worried that in the next decade the initiative will be remembered as 'One Belt and One Trap', a waste of resources that depends too heavily on lumbering and inefficient state-owned enterprises," he said.

China says One Belt One Road is about partnership and cooperation and is pushing ahead.

Topics: business-economics-and-finance, globalisation---economy, economic-trends, world-politics, china, asia

First posted </s> Despite criticisms, Beijing has been steadily gathering support for its “Belt and Road” initiative, which aims to weave a network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China with Africa, Europe and beyond. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has pledged to sign a memorandum of understanding this week on supporting the initiative during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has made the initiative a signature policy of his administration.

Italy’s involvement would give China a crucial inroad into western Europe and a symbolic boost in its economic tug-of-war with the United States. Italy would be the first member of the G-7, a group of seven major economies that includes the United States, to join Belt and Road, following Portugal’s embrace of the initiative in December.

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It appears to be driven partly by hopes that Chinese investment in Italy’s ports might help revive the country’s traditional role as a key link in trade between the East and West. The Belt and Road program is a loosely defined umbrella for predominantly China-financed — and usually China-built — projects in more than 60 countries from the South Pacific through Asia to Africa and Europe.

As President Donald Trump squares off with China over trade and other issues, gaining Italy’s support is a coup for Beijing. “It’s important for the Xi administration to show that you have Portugal and Italy, two well-known countries in western Europe breaking ranks with the western alliance in BRI,” said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor of China studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. China says some 150 countries have signed Belt and Road related agreements since the program’s launch more than five years ago.

A major conference is planned next month in Beijing, marking further expansion of the initiative. Beijing has marketed the initiative as a way to give some of the world’s neediest countries a leg up, helping them gain access to more trade and investment. But it also helps Chinese companies tap new markets for their products while, inevitably, helping Beijing amass greater global influence.

Some governments including the United States, Japan and India worry that Beijing is trying to build a China-centered sphere of influence that would undermine their own sway, pulling developing nations into so-called “debt traps,” that would give China ever-more control over their territories and economies.

China already has made inroads in Eastern Europe through investments in railways, ports and steel mills. That’s stirred fears of a growing divide within the 28-member European Union between its wealthier and poorer members. Some also worry Chinese-led projects might undercut the bloc’s standards on transparency.

As the U.S. takes on long-standing complaints of Chinese intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices, a Chinese win in Italy could boost Beijing’s arguments that it is ultimately a force for good in the global economy. China’s official position is that Belt and Road is solely an economic initiative with no political motives. Xi said in a speech late last year that even as China moves closer to the center of the world stage, it will never seek hegemony.

“The Belt and Road Initiative in nature is an economic strategy,” said Chu Yin, a researcher at the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank in Beijing affiliated with the government and with the ruling Communist Party. “China has no intention to become a global hegemon and nor does China have such an ability,” he said.

Launched in 2013, the initiative is at heart a business venture, not aid. China wants to attract non-Chinese investors but that has happened only on a few of the hundreds of projects, which range from oil drilling in Siberia to construction of ports in Southeast Asia, railways in Eastern Europe and power plants in the Middle East.

The initiative has run into some roadblocks in the past year, as the Chinese economy cooled and the US and others accused Beijing of saddling developing countries with too much debt. Some governments including Thailand, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Nepal have scrapped, scaled back or renegotiated projects amid complaints that they are too costly and give too little work to local contractors Last year, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad cancelled projects including a USD 20 billion railway he said his country cannot afford. And in 2017, December, Sri Lanka sold control of its port of Hambantota to a Chinese state-owned company after falling behind in repaying USD 1.5 billion in loans from Beijing.
The Government of China begins a two-day summit in Beijing, in an attempt to raise international support for its Belt and Road Initiative.