Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai gives a speech at a reception in Washington. [Photo/China Daily]
The Belt and Road Initiative means "countless opportunities" for US businesses, and China invites more of corporate America to participate in the projects to benefit themselves and the world at large, Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said on Tuesday.
In a commentary published on Fortune's website, the envoy also refuted allegations that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has resulted in debt traps.
The BRI, in fact, Cui insisted, has helped many participating countries emerge from "the trap of underdevelopment or no development".
Noting that the US remains on the sidelines of the BRI, almost six years after it was launched, Cui said the situation has implications not only in terms of missed opportunities for growth in the US, but for the cause of global development, which needs the ingenuity and the industry of the US.
Cui wrote about the potential of the world's two largest economies collaborating on the most ambitious development project in history, saying that the scenario is no fantasy. BRI will eventually connect a vast swath of the world, creating huge yields in economic activity, and wiring the world together as it has never been connected before.
The BRI, first proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa by modernizing the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.
"Critics say that the BRI must have an underlying strategic aim or agenda," Cui wrote. "If so, then building a community with a shared future for mankind is the agenda, as first and foremost, the BRI aims to promote connectivity."
The initiative has become a "massive platform" for cooperation and an engine of growth. Total trade between China and other Belt and Road countries has exceeded $6 trillion, and China's investment in these countries has surpassed $80 billion, with Chinese companies generating more than $2 billion in tax revenue and 300,000 jobs for locals, China's top envoy said in his article "Why the US Shouldn't Sit Out the Belt and Road Initiative".
"Some people have errantly characterized the BRI as a potential debt trap," he said. "But countries who have participated in and benefited from the BRI have debunked such assertions."
Decisions made through the BRI framework, from project selection to investment and financing cooperation, are all based on consultation between all parties involved, and backed by risk assessment and investment feasibility studies, according to Cui.
"As a matter of fact, no country has become trapped in a debt crisis since its participation in the BRI," he wrote. "Quite the contrary, it is through participating in BRI cooperation that many countries have emerged from the trap of underdevelopment or no development."
Cui said there are countless opportunities for US corporations available through BRI projects.
He mentioned Honeywell International, which is already working with partners to further oil and gas development along the Belt and Road. General Electric has signed a number of deals with BRI partners to help provide reliable power and energy to critical regions across the world.
Caterpillar is working with China's initiative to help solve Pakistan's severe power shortages and Citibank is actively providing financing for projects through the markets along the Belt and Road.
"We certainly welcome more taking part," Cui wrote.
In a report released on Tuesday, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said that the world needs an estimated $94 trillion in infrastructure by 2040.
"There is a spotlight today on infrastructure issues because of pressing global needs and competing visions for delivering these projects, with China's Belt and Road Initiative arguably the most significant and ambitious strategic initiative of the twenty-first century so far," said the report "The Higher Road: Forging a US Strategy for the Global Infrastructure Challenge".
If the US was thinking strategically, it would be willing, at a minimum, to be pragmatic and broadminded about the BRI, according to Jon Taylor, a professor of political science of the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
Taylor proposes the US "flip the script" and offer to work with BRI participants to broaden global economic development efforts and improve the lives of millions of people.
Douglas H. Paal, vice-president of the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the BRI program is developing guidelines and standards that make it "a more attractive partner" in bringing development to needy parts of the world.
"American firms should be encouraged to provide services in finance, environmental science and other related areas where they bring comparative advantages," he told China Daily on Tuesday.
"Now everybody needs more infrastructure," said Susan Shirk, chair of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego.
Editor:Cherie
