Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday announced $40-billion fund to build mega Silk Road projects criss-crossing Asia, ahead of the key APEC summit to be attended by US President Barrack Obama and other top global leaders to bolster infrastructure in the region.
China will contribute $40 billion to set up a Silk Road Fund to ‘break the bottleneck in Asian connectivity’ by building a financing platform, Xi told a neighbourhood leaders summit attended by leaders from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia and Tajikistan.
The fund will be used to provide investment and financial support to carry out infrastructure, resources, industrial cooperation and other projects related to connectivity for countries along the ‘Belt and Road’, Xi said, referring to China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives. He said China will provide inter-connectivity training for 20,000 people from the neighbouring countries in the next five years. The timing of the announcement was significant as it came a day ahead of a separate meeting of the leaders of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) where China is locking horns with the US to wrest control of the leadership of the region.
The APEC summit is being held from November 10 to 11 in the Chinese capital. China’s Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road initiatives are widely regarded as strategic moves by Beijing to checkmate US Pivot to Asia and US plans to develop a silk road through Afghanistan.
The Chinese plan involved a broad connectivity platform both by road and sea for the movement of goods and products. It involves revival of the ancient Silk Road between China and Europe via Afghanistan and Central Asia, besides linking Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar (BCIM) Corridor as well as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor through the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).