China Silk Road plan draws interest in 50 countries

BEIJING: Over 50 countries have evinced strong interest in China's initiative to build the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st century maritime Silk Road, an official here said today.

He Yafei, deputy head of the overseas Chinese affairs office of the State Council, made the remarks at a conference in the southern-most island province of Hainan.

Along the belt and road are many developing countries with a combined population of 4.4 billion and an annual economic output of USD 2.2 trillion.

Given complementary industrial structures, the economic belt has strong growth potentials, He was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

India has expressed interest to join the Bangladeshi, China, India, Myanmar, (BCIM) corridor, one of the many Silk roads proposed by China, but it is yet to convey its stand on the Maritime Silk Road plan.

With huge forex reserves and more frequent uses of the Yuan in trade settlement, China could offer low-cost financing to the countries which participate in the drive, he said.

The countries should seek consensus on cooperation and step up cooperation in fields like infrastructure, tourism, energy and finance, he said.

China's initiative gives new impetus to regional integration and offers rare growth opportunities for businesses, said Ong Chong Yi, minister counsellor at the Malaysian Embassy in China.

The belt and road initiative was put forward by President Xi Jinping during his overseas visits in 2013.