Beijing will inject over US$100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday (Oct 18) 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.
Xi announced on Wednesday that key Belt and Road lenders the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank will now offer an additional US$100 billion in loans.
Both will set up financing opportunities of 350 billion yuan (US$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.
