Xi rebrands China foreign loan initiative in hopes of calming fears over geopolitical reach
BEIJING - China's flagship foreign policy initiative, designed to provide loans for infrastructure projects in developing nations, will meet higher standards for environmental protection and safeguards against corruption, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday in a keynote address at an international Belt and Road Initiative forum in Beijing.
"In pursuing the Belt and Road, everything should be done in a transparent way and we should have zero tolerance for corruption," said Xi, addressing some 40 global leaders and 5,000 attendees at the conference, the second since the investment program was launched in 2013.
With more than $440 billion in loans already targeted to development projects across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America, the program has led to agreements with 125 countries. But it has also resulted in questions and criticism about the level of debt incurred by participating countries and whether China
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