China Foreign Minister Says Global Initiatives Must Be Inclusive

(Bloomberg) -- International cooperative initiatives that are exclusive will eventually become “obsolete,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday. 

Initiatives that “deliberately sever ties between countries” and “attempt to draw ideological lines to stir political confrontation” are doomed to be phased out, Wang told a Belt and Road Forum advisory council meeting via video link.

The key question is whether these initiatives can stick to openness and inclusiveness while maintaining a win-win approach, according to Wang’s speech posted on the foreign ministry’s website. 

His remarks came after the European Union’s efforts earlier this month to mobilize 300 billion euros ($337 billion) in public and private infrastructure investments by 2027 to counter China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative. The Biden administration also aimed to launch a global infrastructure financing program, with as much as 10 flagship projects expected to be announced as soon as January.

China welcomes and is willing to work with all cooperative initiatives that will truly facilitate economies of all countries, said Wang. 

Last month, China President Xi Jinping pledged to explore more areas for cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative despite the fact that the international environment has become “increasingly complicated.” Xi called for establishing a risk-assessment platform for projects.

As part of the infrastructure program, a $6 billion railway linking Laos with China opened on Dec. 3, with a line running between Vientiane, the capital city of the landlocked country and the Chinese city of Kunming. The high costs have raised concerns about Lao’s ability to repay its debts from the project.

Beijing has hit back at criticism of what has been described as “debt trap” diplomacy in recent years, saying no foreign asset has ever been seized by China to repay a Chinese loan.

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With assistance from Bloomberg