China and US clash over 'belt and road' in Afghan resolution

China and Russia clashed with the US and other Security Council members Monday over China's insistence on including a reference to Beijing's USD 1 trillion "belt and road" global infrastructure program in a resolution on the UN political mission in Afghanistan.

The mission's six-month mandate expires Tuesday and council members met behind closed doors for over 2 1/2 hours Monday, unable to agree on a text because of China's demand.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, the current council president, told reporters afterward that diplomats were working on a new text and "we're in the process of reaching a compromise."
But in March, when the mandate renewal came up, U.S. deputy ambassador Jonathan Cohen objected, saying Beijing was insisting on making the resolution "about Chinese national political priorities rather than the people of Afghanistan."
He said the Trump administration opposed China's demand "that the resolution highlight its belt and road initiative, despite its tenuous ties to Afghanistan and known problems with corruption, debt distress, environmental damage, and lack of transparency."
China's deputy ambassador, Wu Haitao, countered at the time that one council member almost certainly referring to the US "poisoned the atmosphere."
It focused on UN support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled peace process, UN assistance in the September 28 presidential election and strong backing for Afghan security forces "in their fight against terrorism."