Yahoo – AFP,
Yanan WANG, Laurent THOMET, May 14, 2017
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| China's President Xi Jinping speaks at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum, in Beijing, on May 14, 2017 (AFP Photo/Greg Baker) |
China
touted on Sunday its new Silk Road as "a project of the century" at a
summit highlighting its growing leadership on globalisation, but a North Korean
missile test threatened to overshadow the event.
President
Xi Jinping was preparing to host leaders from 29 nations for the two-day summit
in Beijing when US and South Korean military officials confirmed that Pyongyang
had launched a ballistic missile.
Delegations
from North Korea and the United States were expected at the forum, though not
their leaders. Few Western heads of government made the trip.
The summit
is showcasing Xi's cherished One Belt, One Road initiative, a revival of the
Silk Road that could cement China's growing global clout on trade and
geopolitics.
"This
is indeed a gathering of great minds," Xi said, addressing leaders
including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
Xi pledged
to pump an extra $124 billion in funds into the initiative, calling it "a
project of the century" in a "world fraught with challenges".
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Map showing
China's ambitious plan to revive the ancient Silk
Road trade routes (AFP Photo)
|
The
Chinese-bankrolled project seeks to link the country with Africa, Asia and
Europe through an enormous network of ports, railways, roads and industrial
parks.
The
initiative spans some 65 countries representing 60 percent of the world
population and around a third of global gross domestic product. The China
Development Bank has earmarked $890 billion for some 900 projects.
The project
is seen as a practical solution to relieve China's industrial overcapacity. But
it could also serve Beijing's geopolitical ambitions as Washington retreats
into "America First" policies.
While Xi
did not mention North Korea during his speech to the delegates, the Chinese
foreign ministry issued a statement saying it opposes such missile tests.
It urged
all parties to "exercise restraint and refrain from further aggravating
the tension in the region".
North Korea
relies heavily on trade with China for its economic survival, and US President
Donald Trump has urged Xi to use that leverage to put pressure on Pyongyang.
The White
House called on all nations to impose "far stronger sanctions"
following the latest test, which came days after South Korea elected a new
president.
Sunday's
missile launch "is absolutely an embarrassment to Beijing but it also
shouldn't be overstated", Christopher Balding, economics professor at
Peking University, told AFP.
"This
will not overshadow (the summit) in an enormous way but it will absolutely
continue to raise US frustrations with Beijing," he said, adding that
Washington was "frustrated" that North Korea was also invited to the
summit.
 |
Russia's
President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks with his Chinese counterpart Xi
Jinping
during a bilateral meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing,
on May 14,
2017 (AFP Photo/WU HONG)
|
Respecting sovereignty
Xi focused
on his initiative, boasting that it represented a "road for peace",
but he cautioned "all countries should respect each others' sovereignty...
and territorial integrity".
He warned
that "isolation results in backwardness".
The new
financing that he promised on Sunday includes 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion)
for the Silk Road Fund and lending schemes worth 380 billion yuan. He also
urged financial institutions to contribute 100 billion yuan.
Praising
Xi's initiative, Putin warned that "protectionism is becoming the
norm".
"The
ideas of openness, trade freedom are rejected more and more, very often by
those who were their supporters not so long ago," Putin said.
For his
part, Erdogan said Belt and Road was "going to be the kind of initiative
that will put an end to terrorism".
 |
India,
whose Prime Minister narendra Modi is seen on May 12, 2017, has voiced
displeasure at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a Belt and Road project
aimed
at linking northwestern China to the Arabian Sea (AFP Photo/Ishara S.
Kodikara)
|
Indian
concerns
Some Belt
and Road projects are raising concerns in certain countries.
India has
voiced displeasure at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a Belt and Road
project aimed at linking northwestern China to the Arabian Sea.
The route
cuts through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, disputed
territory that India claims is illegally occupied.
Human
Rights Watch raised fears on Saturday about the treatment of people along the
new Silk Road route in Central Asian nations with poor track records in
infrastructure projects.
The
US-based organisation said Chinese authorities have "heightened
surveillance and repression to prevent potential unrest that could impede"
Belt and Road plans in the western Xinjiang region.
These leaders are going to fall over. You'll have a slow developing leadership coming to you all over the earth where there is a new energy of caring about the public. "That's just too much to ask for in politics, Kryon." Watch for it. That's just the beginning of this last phase. So many things are coming. The next one is related to this, for a country in survival with sickness cannot sustain a leadership of high consciousness. There is just too much opportunity for power and greed. But when a continent is healed, everything changes. .."
".. Many years ago, the prevailing thought was that nobody should consider China as a viable player on the economic stage. They were backward, filled with a system that would never be westernized, and had no wish to become joined with the rest of the world's economic systems. Look what has happened in only 30 years. Now, look at Africa differently …”
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The train, carrying whisky, soft drinks, baby products and pharmaceuticals,
will take 18 days to make the 12,000-km (7,500-mile) journey |
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"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)
“… Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader. Remember where you heard it... in a strange, esoteric meeting with a guy in a chair pretending to channel. [Kryon being factious... Kryon humor] Then when you hear it, you'll know better, won't you? "Maybe there was something really there," you'll say. "Maybe it was real," you'll say. Perhaps you can skip all the drama of the years to come and consider that now? [Kryon humor again]
These leaders are going to fall over. You'll have a slow developing leadership coming to you all over the earth where there is a new energy of caring about the public. "That's just too much to ask for in politics, Kryon." Watch for it. That's just the beginning of this last phase. So many things are coming. The next one is related to this, for a country in survival with sickness cannot sustain a leadership of high consciousness. There is just too much opportunity for power and greed. But when a continent is healed, everything changes. .."
".. Many years ago, the prevailing thought was that nobody should consider China as a viable player on the economic stage. They were backward, filled with a system that would never be westernized, and had no wish to become joined with the rest of the world's economic systems. Look what has happened in only 30 years. Now, look at Africa differently …”
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