The Great Game Changer: Belt and Road Intiative (BRI; OBOR)

[TaiShang]

New light on old money
By Wang Kaihao | China Daily | Updated: 2017-04-25 07:23


More than 500 coins from olden-day China and about 100 statues from places along the ancient Silk Road are displayed at a Beijing museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The exhibits are small and eroded, not only by sand, but by time. As the ancient empires along the Silk Road faded into obscurity, these surviving coins are remaining witnesses of the booming communication on that legendary Eurasian trade route.

The event, Coins Have Two Sides, West and East: Exhibition of Currencies on Ancient Silk Road was launched on Thursday at Network of International Cultural Exchange Gallery, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Culture.

At the show, more than 500 coins from ancient China and about 100 ancient statues from places along the land and sea routes, respectively, are displayed.

The exhibits range from copper coins with square holes from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220) to gold coins from the Byzantine Empire besides items from today's Iran, Afghanistan, Syria and India.

The exhibition hall is like a microcosm of economic history in the ancient world.


More than 500 coins from olden-day China and about 100 statues from places along the ancient Silk Road are displayed at a Beijing museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]


The coins are on loan from Jin Jiadong, 67, who is based in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province.

Jin, who has been collecting coins for at least the past 30 years, owns more 10,000 items, which are displayed at a private museum in Nanchang.

"Some coins lack high economic value but contain very important historical information," says Jin.

"When you set out to systematically look for certain types of coins, you find many voids in your collection. That encouraged me to communicate more with overseas collectors," he says.

According to him, more than 200 exhibits are from ancient China's central kingdoms, and about 60 are from Xiyu (the western regions), a term used to describe the numerous regimes, which existed from the third century BC to the eighth century AD in today's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Central Asia.

More than 500 coins from olden-day China and about 100 statues from places along the ancient Silk Road are displayed at a Beijing museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]


The exhibition is a part of a series of displays on the Silk Road at the gallery.

In March, an exhibition on the Mogao Caves, a crossroads on the Silk Road in Dunhuang, Gansu province, was staged there, at the start of its tour around the world.

The coin event is also scheduled to be taken to countries along the Silk Road, as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

He Ruzhen, who launched the program, says: "In ancient times, Chinese people used porcelain and tea to trade in goods along the Silk Road before using money. Today, we'd like to use these cultural linkages to stir emotional resonance among people in countries along the Belt and Road. More cultural exhibitions will help."

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn


If you go

Coins Have Two Sides, West and East: Exhibition of Currencies on Ancient Silk Road

10 am to 5 pm, through May 21, Mondays closed. Network of International Cultural Exchange Gallery, 83 Beiheyan Dajie (Avenue), Dongcheng district, Beijing.

 

[samsara]

The Very First London-Yiwu cargo train carrying British products enters China

Source: Xinhua | 2017-04-25 | Editor: Mengjie

Photo taken on April 24, 2017 shows containers full of British products carried by the first London-Yiwu cargo train at the Alataw Pass in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The cross-continent freight, loaded with containers carrying products including milk powder and soft drinks, left London, capital of Britain, earlier this month for Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang Pvovince. The 12,000-kilometer journey passes through nine countries in 18 days. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongheng)

 

[TaiShang]

Dubai cashes in on Belt & Road
By Chai Hua in Shenzhen, Guangdong | China Daily | Updated: 2017-04-26

The futuristic cityscape of Dubai. [Photo/Agencies]


Dubai's Multi Commodities Center, the largest free trade zone in the United Arab Emirates, has seen a strong surge in the number of Chinese companies as the Belt and Road Initiative drives new business opportunities.

Registrations of Chinese companies at the DMCC have grown by an average of 46 percent annually over the past five years.

"The number of Chinese companies setting up in Dubai and DMCC is on the rise," said Chief Executive Officer Gautam Sashittal. "But it is still a small portion of our 13,500 registered companies in total".

Located in the middle of the Maritime Silk Road, the zone has attracted around 150 Chinese companies since its establishment in 2002.

The majority of Chinese companies already there are large corporates involved in infrastructure and technology, including Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd, Hisense Group, Sinopec Group, China Harbour Engineering Co and China State Construction Engineering Corp.

He said he believes the Belt and Road Initiative will drive the growth even more rapidly and provide new opportunities for small and medium-sized companies and startups in the trading and services sectors.

"With the increased digitalization of trade, international commerce will grow by $29 trillion over the next decade, bringing about 350 million new businesses into international trade," he said. "And that's where we are keen to grow trade relationships."

On Monday, a DMCC delegation visited Shenzhen, home of 1.4 million SMEs in Guangdong province, for the first time. "We are here because it is the hub for technology and new innovations," he explained.

In addition, the DMCC plans to build a new coffee center which is expected to export around 140,000 metric tons of Chinese Arabica beans from Yunnan province to Dubai and then re-export them globally.

Cong Hongbin, vice-chairman of international relations at strategic advisory company Falcon and Associates, said the petroleum and natural gas industry accounts for about just 2 percent of Dubai's GDP, while the majority comes from the service sector, such as trade, logistics and tourism.

He said the city not only can benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative but also is an ideal pivot to support its development.

 

[JSCh]

China-invested bitumen plant in Kazakhstan benefits local residents
By Ma Xiaoning, Zhou Hanbo, Xie Yahong and Liu Junguo from People’s Daily (People's Daily) 15:33, April 26, 2017

Thanks to its cooperation with China under the framework of “Belt and Road” initiative, Kazakhstan’s dream to develop its own petrochemical processing industry has come true. After establishing Aktau asphalt plant, the largest direct investment project in non-resource sectors between the two countries, the Central Asian nation is no longer dependent on asphalt imports.

Co-invested by KazMunayGas and China's CITIC Group, the plant is Kazakhstan’s first modern oil processing company, which has brought considerable benefits to local residents.

Though oil-rich, Kazakhstan sees a relatively backward oil refining industry, with many downstream petrochemical products relying on imports for a long time.

Before 2014, nearly 90 percent of bitumen in Kazakhstan was imported. Thanks to the “Belt and Road” initiative, the country’s vision to foster its own petrochemical processing industry has realized.

The plant was put into production three months after Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his historic visit to Central Asia in September 2013.

Before kicking off his visit, Xi told a Kazakh media that China and Kazakhstan should enhance cooperation in non-resource sectors such as chemical industry.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, when announcing the operation of the plant via video connection, expressed his gratitude to Chinese enterprises, saying that Kazakhstan “is finally able to construct its roads independently.” On a following inspection tour to the plant, the president even compared the bitumen plant to “his own child”.

“The plant has not only satisfied domestic demand, this year it started to export bitumen to Uzbekistan,” 63-year-old manufacturing technician Groba told the People’s Daily with pride.

Groba added that no disqualification has been reported in environmental inspections over the past three years, as the environmental standard of Kazakhstan is much stricter than that of the EU.

Zhou Hanzhang, chief mechanic of the plant, said the plant’s technologies and equipment are both imported from China, with qualities above international standards.

Chinese and Kazakh administrative staffs discuss operation of the Aktau bitumen plant, which is the largest joint venture in non-resource sectors between China and Kazakhstan. (Photo by Zhou Hanbo from People’s Daily)

CITIC Group, when investing in Kazakhstan, has been following Xi’s requirements on international cooperation in production capacity.

“China will promote international production capacity cooperation, offer high-quality, advanced and environmental-friendly production capacity and technologies to help its partners optimize industrial distribution and raise industrialization,” Xi said.

“The plant has not only enabled me to live a descent life but also provided jobs to over 200 citizens near its location,” said Groba. As a larger number of locals are indirectly working for the plant, it has become a star among the joint ventures in Aktau.

Wang Fuhua, engineer-in-chief of the instrument system, said that his workmates and he are all known to the locals, who will always express their willingness to apply for jobs at the factory. “We feel very proud to work here,” Wang said.

Abizhanov, director of the product and material workshop, said that he hopes his daughter to learn at China University of Petroleum in the future where she can not only get specialized knowledge but also learn Chinese language. Abizhanov’s daughter is currently studying petrochemical engineering in Minsk, capital of Belarus.

“With the accelerated construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt, China will increase (its) investment in Kazakhstan. Given such background, she will embrace a better career prospect if mastering Chinese,” Abizhanov added.

Dispatcher Aman said that he wants to build high-quality roads for his motherland. Aman graduated from China University of Petroleum in Qingdao, Shandong Province and was impressed by the wide and smooth pavements at the school.

“After Kazakhstan's ‘Bright Road’ new economic policy aligns with China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, there will be larger demand for high quality bitumen,” he added.

“As the largest and most professional bitumen manufacturer in Kazakhstan, the plant will not only help build the nation’s bright pathway with domestically produced bitumen, but also pave a bright pathway for my future career,” Aman is confident about the future.

 

[ahojunk]

China Focus: What to expect from Belt and Road Forum
(Xinhua) 15:29, May 01, 2017

BEIJING, May 1 -- The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation scheduled for mid-May is a high-profile international meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative, a China-proposed trade and infrastructure plan connecting Asia with Europe and Africa.

China will use the forum to build a more open and efficient international cooperation platform and a closer, stronger partnership network as well as to push for a more just, reasonable and balanced international governance system.

Here is what you need to know about the initiative and the upcoming forum.

-- NEW VISION

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which takes the theme "strengthening international cooperation and co-building the 'Belt and Road' for win-win development," will be held from May 14 to 15 in Beijing. President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony and host a round-table leaders' summit.

The forum has been designed to pool more consensus, identify cooperation directions, push forward the implementation of projects, and improve supporting systems.

-- HISTORIC LEGACY

The Belt and Road comprises the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which were put forward for the first time by President Xi in September and October 2013 in his subsequent state visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia.

Building upon the spirit of the ancient Silk Road -- "peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, and mutual benefits" -- which continues to this day, the initiative targets a modern transnational network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, with the aim of promoting common development among all parties involved.

-- INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

More than 100 countries and international organizations have already joined the initiative, of which more than 40 have signed cooperation agreements with China.

The United Nations General Assembly, the UN Security Council and APEC have all incorporated or reflected Belt and Road cooperation in their resolutions and documents.

-- FACILITIES CONNECTIVITY

A series of major transport, energy and communication projects, including the multi-purpose road-rail Padma Bridge in Bangladesh, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and China Railway Express trains to Europe - have witnessed breakthroughs over the past three years and more.

-- UNIMPEDED TRADE

Trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road totaled 6.3 trillion yuan (about 913 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016, more than a quarter of China's total trade value.

Chinese businesses have invested more than 50 billion U.S. dollars in countries along the Belt and Road, and helped build 56 economic and trade cooperation zones in 20 of those countries, generating nearly 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in tax revenue and 180,000 local jobs.

-- FINANCIAL INTEGRATION

China has dedicated 40 billion U.S. dollars to a Silk Road Fund and set up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2015 to provide financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia.

So far, the AIIB has seen its membership increase to 70, with the multilateral development bank's total lending amounting to over 2 billion dollars.

-- ECONOMIC CORRIDORS

China is also pushing forward six economic corridors in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, namely, the New Eurasian Continental Bridge, the China-Mongolia-Russia corridor, the China-Central Asia-West Asia corridor, the China-Indochina Peninsula corridor, the China-Pakistan corridor, and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor.

Together, the six corridors form a trade and transport network across Eurasia, laying a solid foundation for regional and trans regional development plans.

-- PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE BOND

While the "hard connection" of rail lines and ports brings countries closer through ease of travel and logistics, "soft connections" will bring their people together.

On June 22, 2016, during a speech at the Legislative Chamber of the Uzbek Supreme Assembly in Tashkent, Xi called for building a green, healthy, intelligent and peaceful Silk Road, laying out the future of the initiative.

-- GLOBALIZATION

The significance of the forum is especially timely given the rise of anti-globalization.

At a time when certain Western powers are retreating into protectionism and isolation, China has been promoting the globalization of the economy in a spirit of openness and inclusiveness. China will unswervingly continue to open up and push globalization with Chinese wisdom.

-- WIDE PARTICIPATION

More than 1,200 people will attend the forum scheduled for mid-May, including officials, scholars, entrepreneurs, representatives of financial institutions and media organizations from 110 nations, as well as representatives from more than 60 international organizations.

They include heads of state and government from at least 28 countries, as well as UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, and managing director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde.

-- CONCRETE OUTCOMES

Results of the forum are expected to range from consensus building to specific measures on implementation. China expects to sign cooperative documents with nearly 20 countries and more than 20 international organizations at the event.

China will also work with countries along the routes on nearly 20 action plans concerning infrastructure, energy and resources, production capacity, trade and investment.

The round-table leaders' summit, to be held on May 15, will issue a document defining goals and principles and refining cooperative measures.

During the forum, all parties will identify major cooperative projects, set up working groups and establish an investment cooperation center. They will sign financing agreements to support their cooperative projects.

China will work with all parties on a set of measures, including an improved financial cooperation mechanism, a cooperation platform for science, technology and environmental protection, and enhanced exchanges and training of talent.

.

 

[onebyone]

For ‘One Belt, One Road,’ China Casts Madagascar as a ‘Bridge’ to Africa

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series about China’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure initiative, also known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

In January, Chinese Foreign Minster Wang Yi started his annual Africa tour with a stop in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo—a sign of the importance Beijing places on Madagascar’s role in the One Belt, One Road initiative. Last month, during Malagasy President Hery Rajaonarimampianina’s state visit to Beijing, the two countries signed several agreements to accelerate Chinese investment in energy, aviation, transportation, ports and airport construction. In an email interview, Dr. Cornelia Tremann, an expert on Sino-Malagasy relations who is now a researcher at the West Africa Research Center in Dakar, Senegal, details the historical ties that provide the foundation for this relationship. ...

http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/...-china-casts-madagascar-as-a-bridge-to-africa

 

[onebyone]

China’s ambitious One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative is likely to have “modest” short-term impact on total investment and overall economic growth in the vast region, says Oxford Economics.
Launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013, OBOR aims to create an infrastructure network by building roads, ports and railway tracks along ancient trading routes that will span 65 countries and connect some 60% of the global population.

“While it’s hard to quantify the total number of projects and amount of financing, the China Development Bank alone has reserved US$890 billion (S$1.24 trillion) for over 900 projects, highlighting the magnitude of this undertaking,” says Oxford Economics’ He Tianjie and Louis Kuijs in a research briefing on April 27.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that OBOR would need an annual infrastructural investment of US$1.7 trillion until 2030.

Excess capacity in China’s steel industry ranges from 250 to 450 million tonnes per year, while the economists estimate that total annual OBOR spending would only generate around 22 million tonnes of annual steel demand at current prices.

China Telecom Global has its sights set on expanding its data centre business across the ‘One Belt, One Road’ region, after signing an agreement with UK data centre owner Global Switch and Chinese data centre operator Daily Tech.

The initiative is aimed at building roads, power plants and other infrastructure projects to promote trade and transportation, with funding needs expected to reach US$8 trillion through to 2020.


http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/0...any-trillions-in-investment-in-the-2020s.html

 

[onebyone]

China's Belt-Road Plan May Top $500 Billion, Credit Suisse Says
Bloomberg News
4 พฤษภาคม 2560 15:24 GMT+7

• Initiative’s future seen as promising amid U.S. isolationism
• Xi convening 28 world leaders for summit May 14-15 in Beijing

A Chinese worker at a Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co. site in the Thar desert, Pakistan.

Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg
China could pour more than half a trillion dollars into its Belt and Road Initiative, and the push for greater global influence looks even more promising with U.S. President Donald Trump pulling back from engagement, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

The plan could funnel investments worth $313 billion to $502 billion into 62 Belt-Road countries over the next five years, Hong Kong-based analyst Shen Hu wrote in a report Tuesday. In Africa, China may may make additional investments of as much as $79 billion in 13 countries, she said.

Most funds may flow into India, Russia, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, the Philippines and Pakistan, Shen and other analysts said. They added that the biggest beneficiaries could be mid-size Chinese construction and machinery companies and Asian infrastructure firms with close ties to the country’s investment.

"Its future seems even more promising" as the White House pullback creates opportunities, Shen wrote. "China’s overseas investment can be more significant for the world, with its growing influence and the U.S. administration potentially taking a more isolationist turn."

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will convene a Belt and Road summitwith 28 world leaders May 14-15 in Beijing, has embraced a new role as an advocate for free trade after Trump’s election, working to boost China’s role in global governance. Xi defended trade before the World Economic Forum in Davos this year, and Premier Li Keqiang echoed the theme in an essay for Bloomberg Businessweek, saying China will champion economic openness and trade.

Read More: Xi Takes on Trump in Rebuttal Against Protectionism

The analysts estimated the size of the initiative, which they expect will last at least five years but likely as long as a decade, by scoring demand and supply factors, focusing on infrastructure. China may give certain countries preferential treatment to serve its own interests, such as bilateral relations, resources demand and the soundness of investment, they said.

The analysts included a caveat, adding that due to the uncertainties of the initiative, "there’s not much meaningful discussion about how large the initiative could really be."

Chinese shares that could benefit include construction machinery producer Sany Heavy Industry Co., Sinotruk Hong Kong Ltd., a unit of China’s first maker of heavy trucks, China Communications Construction Co., and Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co., the analysts said. They also cited Malaysian civil engineering company Gamuda Bhd, Indonesian state construction company PT Wijaya Karya, and Pakistan’s Lucky Cement Ltd.

— With assistance by Jeff Kearns
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...d-plan-may-top-500-billion-credit-suisse-says

 

[Shotgunner51]

China Minsheng-led Asia consortium mulls creation of up to $15b fund

May 5, 2017: A consortium of financial institutions in Asia, led by Chinese conglomerate China Minsheng Investment Group, is planning to set up a mega fund worth $10-15 billion. The other funds in the consortium include Zhongtai International in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong-based Sun Hung Kai, AMTD Group and BlackPine, Japan-based Orix Corp, South Korea-based Mirae Asset Global Investments and IndoChina Capital from Southeast Asia.

According to a statement by Asia Institutional Investors Alliance led by CMIG, institutional investors from many countries and regions including Mainland China, Hong Kong of China, Japan, South Korea, Israel, India, and Southeast Asia, will establish an Asian Institutional Investor Joint Overseas Investment Fund.

The Hong Kong-based fund will be formed to tap new economy business opportunities on China’s One Belt, One Road initiative route. The Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy and framework, proposed by the Chinese government, that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily between China and the rest of Eurasia. The fund will focus on investment opportunities in sectors including aged care and healthcare, high-tech, fintech, and emerging industries in developed economies and countries alongside the Belt and Road.

In October 2016, CMIG established AIIA in partnership with China-ASEAN Investment Corporation Fund, JP Morgan and UBS. It has gathered Asian sovereign wealth funds, banks, long-term funds, and private equity funds, aiming to create a globalized institutional investor platform with regional features.

“The establishment of the Fund will further the cooperation and exchange among AIIA members, and then bring about an “Asian force” into the international capital market,” according to an official statement.

Founded in Shanghai in 2014 with a registered capital of 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion), CMIG comprises 59 private enterprises, including Giant Interactive Group backed by billionaire Shi Yuzhu, Suning Commerce Group and China Oceanwide Holdings Group.

Read more at: http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/71995-71995/

 

[onebyone]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series about China’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure initiative, also known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Last month, the U.K. inaugurated the first freight train service to China—a 17-day, 7,500-mile journey from Essex to Zhejiang province. A cargo route was earlier established linking China and Spain. The milestones are reminders of Chinese ambitions for European involvement in its One Belt, One Road initiative. In an email interview, Andrew Small, senior trans-Atlantic fellow with the Asia Program of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, explains why European officials are generally enthusiastic about the initiative and describes potential barriers to the implementation of individual projects. ...

http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/...rope-embrace-china-s-one-belt-one-road-vision

 

[samsara]

Book on Belt and Road stories published in 7 languages

Source: Xinhua | 2017-05-05 |Editor: Yamei

A book on the real life stories of the people along the Belt and Road routes, the first of its kind,
was recently published in seven different languages ahead of an international forum
to mark the great initiative later this month. (Xinhua)​

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- A book on the real life stories of the people along the Belt and Road routes, the first of its kind, was recently published here in seven different languages ahead of an international forum to mark the great initiative later this month.

The book, titled "Belt and Road: People with Stories," contains a total of 100 stories selected from the reports of China's Xinhua News Agency and thousands of articles written by people around the world.

The Belt and Road Initiative, comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with an aim to revive ancient trade routes to link China with numerous countries in Asia, Europe and Africa through trade and infrastructure networks.

The chosen stories, available in Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese, speak about how the initiative has brought tangible benefits to the general public along the two routes and in the world at large.

From a Kyrgyz farmer lifting his family out of poverty by growing Chinese corn, to an Ecuadorian hotel staffer surviving a deadly earthquake thanks to Chinese technology, the book tells the emotional and memorable tales of the ordinary people to reflect a bigger picture of the initiative, which is now being advanced in Asia, Africa, Europe and the American continent.

By narrating these detailed memories, it also tries to shed light on the Chinese pursuit of win-win cooperation and common development.

The book is a joint effort of Xinhua, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the Confucius Institute Headquarters.

Its publication by Xinhua Publishing House came ahead of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held in Beijing on May 14-15. According to the Chinese foreign ministry, some 28 heads of state and government leaders will attend the event.

Please click here to download "Belt and Road: People with Stories"

 

[Fledgingwings]

WW3 shall take place sooner than this begins.

 

[samsara]

Belt, Road not a 'one-man show'

By Wang Qingyun - China Daily - Saturday, May 6, 2017, 11:34

China does not want to "put on a one-man show" with the Belt and Road Initiative, and it is not true that the initiative is "controlled" by China, Beijing said on Friday.

"If the Belt and Road really is controlled by China, and if everyone really has no way to share the benefits, I think they wouldn't be rushing in to participate," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, pointing out that delegates from 110 countries will be coming to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. The forum will be held in Beijing on May 14 and 15.

Geng made the remarks in response to a question at a daily news conference regarding opinions among some that the initiative, instead of being "win-win", was China's solo play. "These are misunderstandings made totally out of stereotypical thinking," he said.

READ MORE: Belt and Road Forum a historic test

The Belt and Road Initiative, though proposed by China, is a project that needs to be built by all participants, the spokesman told the news conference.

He said China sticks to "extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits".

China is currently consulting with countries that will attend the forum about an outcome document, the spokesman said, adding that the document will be a result of "extensive consultation" that will draw on the wisdom and consensus of all participants.

ALSO READ: HK prepares to embrace Belt and Road Initiative

Geng said China will work with all sides to make the forum a successful one that will further build consensus and lay out plans for implementing the initiative.

http://www.chinadailyasia.com/nation/2017-05/06/content_15609018.html

 

[Shotgunner51]

One Belt, One Road: The Silk Road
by Moritz Rudolf

https://www.merics.org/en/merics-analysis/infographicchina-mapping/china-mapping/

 

[onebyone]

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that North Korea will be sending a delegation to next week's summit on President Xi Jinping's ambitious new Silk Road project.

Leaders from 28 countries will attend the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on May 14-15, an event orchestrated to promote Xi's vision of expanding links between Asia, Africa and Europe underpinned by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.

"According to what I understand, the North Korean side will send an official delegation to relevant events at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that will shortly be taking place," spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily briefing.

He did not elaborate.

Despite Chinese anger at North Korea's repeated nuclear and missile tests, China remains the isolated state's most important economic and diplomatic backer, even as Beijing has signed up for tough U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.

China has over the years tried to coax North Korea into cautious, export-oriented economic reforms, rather than sabre rattling and nuclear tests, but to little avail.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-says-north-korea-sending-delegation-silk-road-085635612.html