He said deep-seated problems in global development had yet to be addressed effectively, with worldwide trade and investment sluggish, and economic globalisation encountering headwinds.
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India has turned down the invitation to be a part of China and Pakistan’s One Belt One Road project.
“This concept showed that the leadership of China – President Xi and his team – believed in not just growing China but also growing other countries in the region and in the world”, he said. “We will always welcome the participation from the Indian side”, she added. He called for stepped-up action against terrorism and what he called its root causes of poverty and social injustice.
Meanwhile, the Philippines has also welcomed the Border and Road initiative, saying that connectivity will be strengthened between Beijing and other Asian nations.
Hailed by Xi as a “project of the century”, the plan fits into his bigger narrative that China is setting an example of globalization, filling the void left by the U.S. under Donald Trump’s “America First” policy. It should “embrace China’s progress in regional integration and seize the opportunity”.
Japan has given billions of dollars in grants and low-priced loans to Southeast Asian nations, and governments including South Korea have launched trade initiatives. China is India’s largest trading partner, and some of the biggest Chinese firms including Alibaba, Xiaomi and Oppo have a huge presence in the country – either as investors or through their own operations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping today announced that his country will host the next Belt and Road International Forum in 2019. “He said that he is waiting for a meaningful dialogue from China and I don’t know what the spokesperson is trying to say”.
“It’s about selling their stuff”, a European official attending a two-day Beijing summit on the project told The Wall Street Journal.
“We need to seek results through greater openness and cooperation, avoid fragmentation, refrain from setting inhibitive thresholds for cooperation or pursuing exclusive arrangements, and reject protectionism”.
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The meeting included Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russian Federation and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and presidents or prime ministers from Italy, Hungary, Greece, Kenya and most of China’s Asian neighbours but no major Western leaders.
