Wang: BRI a platform for cooperation, not geopolitical tool or debt trap

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is not a geopolitical tool or a debt trap for participating countries, but a platform for cooperation, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.

Wang made the remark at a press conference ahead of the second Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation, which will be held in Beijing next week.

The country will host over 5,000 participants from more than 150 countries, including 37 heads of state or government, for the three-day event starting on Thursday, Wang said, adding the forum, themed "Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future", aims to bring about high-quality cooperation under the initiative.

President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the forum, and chair the leaders' round-table summit, Wang said.

Saying the BRI has delivered real benefits to participating countries, Wang stated the hats like "debt traps" cannot be put onto the head of the Belt and Road, and this is not something any participating country would recognize.

He added that international communities should base their understandings and comments about the BRI on the facts.

Trade volume between China and the countries participating in the BRI has exceeded $6 trillion, the number of investment is over $80 billion and around 300,000 jobs have been created for the people from the countries involved in the initiative, Wang said.