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China to establish $40 billionSilk Road infrastructure fund
Reuters
BEIJING: China will contribute $40 billion to set up a Silk Road infrastructure fund to boost connectivity across Asia, President Xi Jinping announced on Saturday, the latest Chinese project to spread the largesse of its own economic growth. China has dangled financial and trade incentives before, mostly to Central Asia but also to countries in South Asia, backing efforts to resurrect the old Silk Road trading route that once carried treasures between China and the Mediterranean. The fund will be for investing in infrastructure, resources and industrial and financial cooperation, among other projects, Xi said, according to Xinhua. The goal of the fund is to “break the connectivity bottleneck” in Asia, the state media quoted Xi as saying during a meeting in Beijing with leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Tajikistan. It was not immediately clear precisely how the fund would work, when it would start operations or where it would be based, though in all likelihood it would be China. But Xinhua said it would focus on China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, which aim to build roads, railways, ports and airports across Central Asia and South Asia.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk