False accusations targeting BRI rejected

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday that China opposes words and deeds that push for geopolitical calculations and the denigration of the Belt and Road Initiative in the name of infrastructure building, as the G7 group unveiled a global infrastructure program on Sunday.

He told a daily news conference that China welcomes any initiative that contributes to global infrastructure building, after G7 leaders, in a three-day summit that opened on Sunday in Germany, launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, or PGII, which will provide $600 billion by 2027 to "counter" the China-proposed BRI.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official from the United States said the PGII seeks to offer an alternative to infrastructure models that sell "debt traps", concluding that Beijing was more interested in establishing economic and geostrategic footholds than benefiting locals.

The allegation that the BRI creates "debt traps" is a completely false statement, Zhao said.

"In fact, none of countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative has endorsed the claim that the initiative has created debt traps," he added.

Since it was proposed in 2013, Zhao said the BRI has upheld the principles of extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefits and brought tangible benefits to peoples of countries involved in the BRI.

Zhao said the World Bank estimated that if all projects of transportation infrastructure under the BRI framework were carried out, it is expected to generate $1.6 trillion in benefits annually by 2030. The figure accounts for 1.3 percent of global GDP.

Ninety percent of the benefits will be shared by partner countries, with low-income countries and lower-middle-income economies benefiting more, Zhao said citing the estimate.

With the BRI, 7.6 million people will be lifted out of extreme poverty and 32 million people will shake off moderate poverty from 2015 to 2030.

"It is the U.S. that is the true debt trap maker," said Zhao, adding that Washington is to blame for making relevant countries fall into the debt trap.

The U.S. moves, such as expansive monetary policies, financial innovations lacking regulations and malicious short selling, all aggravate the debt burden of developing countries, he added.

The U.S. proposed the Build Back Better World initiative, or B3W, at the G7 summit a year ago, but yet not all G7 partners have contributed financially, he said.

"Whether it is the B3W or other initiatives, the international community hopes to see programs that bring tangible benefits to peoples," the spokesman added.