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November 9, 2014

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China gives US$40b for silk road fund

CHINA will contribute US$40 billion to set up a Silk Road infrastructure fund, to boost connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region, President Xi Jinping said yesterday.

The goal of the fund is to “break the bottleneck in Asian connectivity by building a financing platform,” he said.

Xi was speaking at a meeting in Beijing with the leaders of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

Representatives of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization were also at the talks.

The fund will provide financial support and investment for infrastructure projects, industrial cooperation and other projects related to connectivity along the “Belt and Road,” Xi said, referring to China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative.

It will be “open” to participation by investors from Asia and beyond, he said ahead of a separate summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation grouping.

Calling connectivity in Asia a “key link” in the continent’s search for new growth areas and new competitive edges, Xi said efforts should be made to realize better connectivity.

China’s neighbors are all welcome “to get on board the train of China’s development,” the president told the meeting.

Economic corridors should provide the framework for Asian connectivity, Xi said.

“Such a framework accommodates the needs of various countries,” he said.

Nations should realize an early harvest in Asian connectivity by making breakthroughs in transport infrastructure development, he said, adding that China will provide training opportunities for 20,000 professionals from neighboring countries in the next five years.

Last month, Xi unveiled a US$50 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.


 

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