China's President Xi Jinping speaks at a press conference at the end of
the final day of the Belt and Road Forum at the China National
Convention Centre at the Yanqi Lake venue outside Beijing on April 27,
2019. PHOTO | WANG ZHAO | AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday leaders and
international organizations have committed $64 billion to the Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI).
Xi said that the second leaders'
roundtable meeting under the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) had agreed that
all member countries will contribute funds for the benefit of promoting
equal development.
“We have reiterated and reaffirmed
our commitment towards ensuring that we face the challenges of
development and as a result, we have signed cooperation worth $64
billion,” Xi told journalists at Yanqi Lake Convention and Exhibition
Centre in Beijing on Friday.
In a joint communique read
by Xi at the conclusion of the summit, the Chinese president said that
leaders had noted that the world economy was facing both expanding
opportunities and rising challenges hence the need for continued
cooperation to tackle issues for a better future.
He
added that leaders were impressed with the progress and opportunities
BRI has created through infrastructure investment, economic and trade
cooperation zones.
They said that BRI will continue to
respect the sovereignty of member countries adding that each country
will always list its development priorities.
“We have agreed that we will continue to respect sovereignty and
territorial integrity of each other and affirm that each country has
the right and primary responsibility to define its development
strategies in accordance with its national priorities and legislation,”
underscored Mr Xi.
The BRI leaders also pledged to
fight unilateralism and protectionism saying that would be impossible to
achieve even economic growth with such hurdles.
“We
have concluded that we must embrace open economy and inclusive,
non-discriminatory global market because through multilateralism, we can
address the global challenges,” said Mr Xi.
Since BRI
inception in 2013, China has so far signed 126 Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with member states and organizations.
President
Xi further said that BRI is China's idea but it should not be portrayed
that its fruits are being enjoyed by his country but rather the whole
world.
“Yes BRI was introduced to the world by China
but that does not mean it is only for China, its fruits are witnessed
across the globe,” added Mr Xi.
The roundtable meeting
which concluded the second fete of BRF was attended by 38 heads of
states and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine
Lagarde and United Nations chief Antonio Gutteres.
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