Xi: China projects to be clean, green, graft-free

BEIJING – Corruption will not be tolerated in the projects under the Belt and Road Initiative that China is spearheading, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed yesterday.

Amid accusations that China is destroying the marine environment with its construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea, Xi also said the Belt and Road projects would be clean and green or environment-friendly.

“There will also be zero tolerance for corruption. The initiative is not an exclusive club,” Xi said during his keynote address at the opening of the Second Belt and Road Forum at the China International Convention Center in this city.

Xi said China’s Belt and Road projects need to be transparent and fiscally sustainable, in an effort to allay fears about crippling debt linked to the global infrastructure initiative.

The Philippines, being one of the participating states in the Belt and Road, has several projects under the program. 

President Duterte has also given priority to the campaign against corruption. He has fired several government officials, including a number of Cabinet secretaries. He and his family have denied recent reports linking them to unexplained wealth.

Duterte joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and more than 39 other heads of state and international organizations at the Second Belt and Road Forum.

At least 150 of 195 countries around the world have signified intention to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since Xi launched it in 2013.

Xi cited in his keynote address that the joint connectivity effort under the BRI is expected to benefit not only the participating countries as it aims for a wider global reach. He added that the BRI mechanism has been smoothly implanted and complements that of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United Nations.

“The Belt and Road cooperation involves new ways to improve opportunities for common prosperity and economic globalization. We should keep the parties motivated in the spirit of multilateralism. In going ahead, we should focus on opportunities,” Xi also said.

He stressed that the BRI shall pursue a “green theme” program to protect the environment. 

Putin described the BRI as impressive and congratulated Xi for such an ambitious international initiative.

The participating heads of state to the Second Belt and Road Forum will hold a Leaders Round Table at the Yanqi Lake International Convention Center, at which Duterte will participate before leaving for Davao City early tonight.

More help for Phl

Xi also announced during the bilateral talks the other day with Duterte at the Great Hall of the People that China would provide a one-billion-yuan grant to the Philippines on top of the other assistance it intends to extend to help in the country’s economic development.

This assistance, he explained, is within the framework of the BRI launched as a mechanism to pursue global connectivity through infrastructure, facilitation of free trade, financial integration and people-to-people exchanges.

Xi also offered sympathies for the victims of the series of earthquakes that affected the Philippines in recent days, as he said that China would provide more resources to Luzon and Mindanao to spur regional economic growth, as well as promote Clark Green City through the building of an industrial park.

He said the BRI will also play an important role in ASEAN-China relations, where the Philippines is country coordinator, and in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) through increased cooperation.

The Chinese president also mentioned that the first group of Filipino teachers might soon start teaching English in China as he noted that his country is committed to continue donating rice and fingerlings and to importing Philippine local fruits.

Duterte said he considers the BRI as another opportunity to renew and reaffirm the valued relationship with China and that this must continue in the coming years with an aspiration that Filipinos will feel the true benefits of Philippine-China relations.