Xi Jinping opens China globalisation forum with $78-bn pledge

President Xi Jinping laid the framework for Chinese-style globalisation and his ambition to lead it during a speech inaugurating his cornerstone diplomatic trade initiative for a new Silk Road.
 
Grounding the plan in China’s history, Xi described the Belt and Road Initiative as a “project of the century” that had its inspiration in the ancient trade routes linking the country with the world. He pledged an additional 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) for China’s Silk Road Fund, 380 billion yuan in new lending for participating nations, and 60 billion yuan in coming years to developing countries and international organisations that join the programme.

 
Xi repeated his call for multilateral trade, calling his initiative a force for peace in “a world fraught with challenges.” He told the almost two dozen world leaders gathered at the forum that countries should “uphold and grow an open world economy.”
 

The speech built on an image of Xi as a champion of global free trade that he sought to hone since President Donald Trump’s election, most notably in a January speech in Davos. It set the tone for a major two-day forum starting on Sunday to discuss the Belt and Road plan, which aims to connect China with Europe, Asia and Africa through infrastructure and investment. “They see an opportunity to fill the vacuum and take advantage of perceptions globally,” said Andrew Gilholm, director of analysis for North Asia at Control Risks Group, referring to changing perceptions of US leadership in the Trump era. The presence of major leaders in Beijing to hear China’s plans “fits with the kind of image China has been trying to project.”

 
Assembled delegates included representatives from more than 100 countries and heads of state including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The US sent Matt Pottinger, senior director for Asia on the National Security Council and special assistant to Trump.
 
During the opening ceremony, the first speakers to follow Xi were Putin and Erdogan, who pledged support for China’s initiative while showcasing their own regional projects. Putin called the initiative “timely and promising” while highlighting the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. Erdogan told delegates that the world’s economic centre of gravity was shifting to the East and said he would like Turkey’s planned infrastructure expansion to be linked with the Belt and Road.

 
Other world leaders lined up to praise the project. UK finance minister Philip Hammond called the initiative “truly groundbreaking,” stressing the country’s desire for new global trade ties as it prepares to leave the European Union. Pakistan’s Sharif called the forum a “historic event” that would “tear down barriers to trade and commerce.”
 
Addressing concerns that the initiative will become a bonanza for Chinese companies or a strategic play for regional domination, Xi declared that the plan would be open to all countries and would complement each nation’s development goals.
 
The speech also drew implicit contrast between Chinese-style development objectives and those of the West, saying the initiative won’t resort to “outdated geopolitical maneuvering.” He stressed that China doesn’t seek to export its development model to other nations while also calling for mutual respect of one another’s sovereignty, territory and “core interests.”

 
Xi proposed the initiative, then known as the Silk Road, in 2013. China’s investment in Belt and Road countries has surpassed $50 billion, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Credit Suisse Group estimates the plan could funnel investments worth as much as $502 billion into 62 countries over five years.
 
Xi’s speech set the ambitious plan against the sweep of Chinese history. The first nine minutes of his remarks traced the Silk Road’s genesis 2,000 years ago with ancestors trekking across Eurasian steppes to the opening of the $100-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing last year.