Officially it is an economic forum, but in fact it is a political project. This is the Belt and Road Forum organized by China. The event is intended to help implement an extremely ambitious project that would put China at the very center of world trade and help realize its superpower ambitions.
The President of China, in his typical and rather peculiar poetics, encourages the world to cooperate economically. – Giving others roses will make our hands smell nice. Helping others is also helping yourself. We must treat each other as friends and partners, with mutual respect and support, said Xi Jinping.
His words were spoken at the Belt and Road Forum taking place in Beijing. This is an initiative worth hundreds of billions of euros, which is intended to reactivate the former Silk Road and expand the infrastructure connecting China with the world. The “One Belt and One Road” project is already 10 years old. China is not giving up on it, even though it turned out to be unprofitable for Beijing and for the countries that were tempted by cheap Chinese loans.
– From the Chinese point of view, the biggest problem is that they have realized how much debt owed to China by developing countries, which will really have difficulty repaying it – points out Raffaello Pantucci, analyst at the School of International Studies in Singapore.
Today it turns out that “One Belt and One Road” is primarily a political project that is intended to develop and strengthen China’s influence around the world. In a special analysis, the American editorial team of Business Insider estimates that “getting rich is no longer China’s key project” but “power is.” It goes on to say that “President Xi’s priority is to spend money to compete with America in the areas of technology and national security.”
Beijing’s official position is different. – Ideological confrontation, geopolitical rivalry and dividing the world into blocs are not our choice – assured Xi Jinping.
During the growing confrontation with America, Beijing’s most important ally is Moscow. That is why Vladimir Putin could not be missing at the Belt and Road Forum. The Russian dictator traveled outside the territory of the former USSR for only the second time since February 2022. – In the current difficult conditions, it is especially necessary to closely coordinate foreign policy, which is what we are doing, said the Russian leader.
Orban met with Putin in China. He called the war in Ukraine a “special operation”Jakub Loska/Fakty o Świecie TVN24 BiS
They are fighting for influence in the Middle East
China is increasingly elbowing its way into the Middle East. Once upon a time, their influence in this area was symbolic. Multi-billion investments changed this. Beijing is trying to marginalize America’s role. Calls for a special peace conference. There is a special envoy of Xi Jinping’s government in the Middle East.
– The basic cause of the conflict is that the aspiration for an independent Palestinian state has not been realized. The solution to the problem is to establish and implement a two-state solution of peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel – says Zhai Jun, the Chinese government’s special envoy to the Middle East.
The Chinese ignore the fact that Hamas has been calling all peace talks with Israel treason for decades. Beijing’s position is essentially a copy of the Kremlin’s narrative. – The attack on a hospital in Gaza is a disaster. I very much hope that this is a signal that this conflict should be ended as soon as possible, commented Vladimir Putin.
In an interview for the Italian daily “La Repubblica”, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Russia was behind the Palestinian Hamas, and Putin deserved a “second Nuremberg”.
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Main photo source: PAP/EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES