Earth Science News
TRADE WARS
China's Xi announces over $100 billion in new Belt and Road funding
China's Xi announces over $100 billion in new Belt and Road funding
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Oct 18, 2023

Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary.

The Belt and Road is a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's clout overseas, with Beijing saying it has now inked over two trillion dollars in contracts around the world.

Proponents hail it for bringing resources and economic growth to the Global South.

But the initiative has also been slammed for saddling poor countries with enormous debt.

Xi announced on Wednesday that key Belt and Road lenders the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank will now offer an additional $100 billion in loans.

Both will set up financing opportunities of 350 billion yuan ($47.9 billion) for BRI projects, he said.

An additional 80 billion yuan will be injected into the project's official lending institution, the Silk Road fund, Xi said.

This week's forum, attended by representatives of 130 countries, is the third major summit of its kind to be hosted by Beijing since the Belt and Road's launch in 2013.

Critics have long pointed to opaque pricing for BRI projects built by Chinese companies, with countries including Malaysia and Myanmar renegotiating deals to bring down costs.

Beijing has been forced to hand out billions of dollars in bailout loans to BRI countries in recent years to allow the countries to extend their loans and remain solvent, according to a joint report this year by the World Bank and other institutions.

And China said this month that BRI participants owe more than $300 billion to the Export-Import Bank of China.

The initiative has also drawn scrutiny for its massive carbon footprint and the environmental degradation caused by massive infrastructure projects.

The development of megaports, pipelines, railways and highways could render the Paris climate goals unreachable, researchers from China, the United States and the United Kingdom warned in 2019.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
TRADE WARS
Ports, railways, a naval base: China's Belt and Road in five projects
Beijing (AFP) Oct 17, 2023
China's landmark Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has thousands of infrastructure projects in every corner of the globe, generating a staggering $2 trillion in contracts while courting international controversy. Here AFP looks at five key projects: - Laos: High-speed railway - Laos took on huge loans from China to partially finance a $6 billion high-speed railway connecting it with the underdeveloped, landlocked nation. The nearly 650-mile line linking the Chinese city of Kunming to the La ... read more

TRADE WARS
Egypt-Gaza border crossing to reopen as aid waits to enter enclave

Space set to keep people safer during emergencies

Nepal quake sparks revival of traditional craft skills

Chinese scientists join Fukushima water review

TRADE WARS
Simplifying the generation of three-dimensional holographic displays

Researchers developing 'revolutionary' multi-material for light-based 3D printing

Light-powered multi-level memory tech revolutionizes data processing

Keysight to Provide Payload Testing Solution for First SWISSto12 HummingSat Mission

TRADE WARS
How an ancient society in the Sahara Desert rose and fell with groundwater

'If we bathe, we won't drink': Gazans struggle as water supplies dwindle

Hong Kong adds two shark families on controlled trade list

Tens of thousands of endangered sharks and rays caught off Congo

TRADE WARS
Over 40 percent of Antarctica's ice shelves reduced in volume over 25 years

WWF urges end to deadlock on new Antarctic reserves

The village at the end of the world

Glacial lake floods: a growing, unpredictable climate risk

TRADE WARS
Burp tax causes pre-poll stink with New Zealand farmers

EU fails to decide on glyphosate use extension

Disasters cause $3.8 trillion in crop losses over 30 years: FAO

Climate change is improving French wine -- for now

TRADE WARS
Five killed in Thai floods with more heavy rain expected

Afghans flee western region after fresh earthquake kills two

Magnitude 5.2 earthquake shakes Philippine capital: USGS

Lidia leaves at least one dead in Mexico, weakens to storm

TRADE WARS
Mali's junta says departure of UN troops will not be delayed

S.Africa recalls peacekeepers accused of sexual abuse in DRC

Chad agrees transit for France's Niger troop withdrawal

Nigeria air strikes kill around '100 bandit fighters'

TRADE WARS
Does a brain in a dish have moral rights?

Fears for ancient Cyrene after Libya floods

Need to hunt small prey compelled humans to make better weapons and smarten up

Hong Kong's top court rules to recognise same-sex partnerships

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.