Xi Jinping hints at hosting Belt & Road Forum in 2023 after Covid induced hiatus
Chinese President Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping has hinted at hosting the third edition of theBelt and Road Forum for International Cooperation next year. It will be the first time the event will be held since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Xi hinted at the possibility during theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, currently underway in Bangkok. Xi was speakingto ThailandPrime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha when he spitballed the staging of the event.
“Next year, China will consider hosting the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, injecting new impetus into the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific and the world,” Xi told the Thai PM.
“Over the past few decades, economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific has developed vigorously and created the ‘Asia-Pacific Miracle’, which attracted worldwide attention,” he added, per state media.
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Notably, the previous two iterations of the event were held in 2017 and 2019 with leaders from dozens of countries attending the forum.
Xi hinting that the event might go ahead also suggests that he might be taming down on his rather draconian 'zero-Covid' policy which has been in effect for more than two years now.
While the majority of the world has opened up, Xi and China have remained adamant on the policy, leading to a precarious economic situation as big cities and towns remain locked.
Read more:COVID-19 impact: President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative set to be derailed
What is BRI?
TheBelt and Road Initiative (BRI)is one of Xi's flagship infrastructure programme aimed athaving ageographically structured route through several countries by using land, sea and the maritime silk road routes.
BRI was launched in 2013 and has managed to serve the interests of Chinese foreign policy by helping it make deep inroads in countries in Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe.
Read more:All you need to know about China's Belt and Road Initiative
Countries like India, however, remain highly critical of BRI, stating that Beijing uses its 'debt trap diplomacy' under the guise of infrastructure projects to bleed the foreign countries dry.
(With inputs from agencies)
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