President Xi Jinping on Saturday called for more countries to join China’s sprawling infrastructure-building initiative in the face of US opposition to a project that Washington worries is building Beijing’s strategic influence.
Speaking at a gathering of leaders from three dozen governments to celebrate his signature project, Xi tried to dispel complaints that the Belt and Road Initiative does too little for developing African and Asian countries that have built ports, railways and other facilities with Chinese loans. Xi said his government wants to “deliver benefits to all”.
The upbeat tone of the two-day forum, at which leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Belt and Road, is a setback for Washington, which is trying to discourage other governments from participating.
On Friday, Xi promised to improve financial and environmental standards in response to complaints about debt and potential corruption and environmental problems. He pledged to work more closely with multinational institutions and to open projects dominated by Chinese state-owned companies wider to private and foreign contractors.
“We need to encourage the full participation of more countries and companies,” Xi said at the event at a conference center outside Beijing.