China’s Belt and Road Forum ends with more support and US$64 billion in new deals, but is it job done for Beijing?
- Xi Jinping wraps up three-day event with signing of shared promise to make global trade and infrastructure plan more diversified, financially responsible
- But as nations eye up the potential economic benefits of the Belt and Road Initiative, analysts question if it can live up to the hype
Despite growing criticism of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” from the United States and its allies, the message from Beijing on Saturday was clear: the multibillion-dollar trade and infrastructure development plan is alive and well and gaining support.
At the inaugural forum in 2017, just 29 nations made such a pledge, with Portugal, Austria, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Thailand among the new signatories this time around.
Aside from the political support shown at the event, Xi announced at a press conference that more than US$64 billion worth of deals had been signed over the three days and that 283 “practical outcomes” had been achieved.
Launched in 2013, the belt and road plan has come under strong fire recently for its alleged lack of financial controls and poor environmental record, and the suggestion it operates only to serve the interests of China.