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Belt and Road Summit in China Will Include Leaders from Around the World
8 February 2017
EIRNS—China is preparing intensively for a May 2017 international conference in Beijing on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which the government has described as the centerpiece of its economic and foreign policy. China’s State Councillor, Yang Jiechi, told the official China Daily last week that leaders from about 20 countries have already confirmed their participation, representing Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, though he did not specify the names of the countires, The Star Online reported.
One of those who has been invited, Reuters reported today, is British Prime Minister Theresa May. Malaysia has indicated that it has been invited and that it has accepted the invitation. New Delhi indicated that it has received a request to send a high-level delegation to the conference. A strong African presence is also expected, given China’s extensive infrastructure activities in that continent. The China-built and -financed projects include a $13 billion rail-link between Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa; urban transit system in Lagos, Nigeria; and a light-rail system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. Two weeks ago, the Indian daily The Hindu interviewed Wang Yiwei, a professor at Renmin University in China, who told the news daily that China looks forward to U.S. President Donald Trump’s participation in the Belt and Road conference, as well. Ramtanu Maitra |
