DUSHANBE, November 9, 2014, Asia-Plus — China has pledged 40 billion U.S. dollars to set up a Silk Road Fund to help connect countries across Asia.
The Xinhua news agency reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping made the announcement on November 8 while making a five-point proposal aimed at promoting interconnected development in the Asia-Pacific region as he met with leaders of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
Representatives of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization also attended the meeting.
Xi said the fund’s goal is to “break the connectivity bottleneck” in Asia and that the money will be invested in infrastructure, natural resources, and industrial and financial cooperation.
Chinese leader added that the fund will be “open” to active participation by investors from both within and outside of Asia.
An Asian Development Bank report estimates that Asia as a whole needs as much as 730 billion U.S. dollars per year in infrastructure investment before 2020, Xinhua reported, noting that the Chinese president said funding stands out as the most challenging issue in Asia”s connectivity development.
President Xi’s words were reportedly echoed by Yao Zhizhong, deputy head of the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who noted that funding is key to provide impetus to the infrastructure construction in the Asia-Pacific, which in turn contributes to inter-connectivity in the region.
He said the Silk Road Fund can also promote diversified use of China”s foreign reserves and help China make full use of its funding advantages.
