Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his opening speech on stage for the Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. – Chinese President Xi Jinping promised greater access to China’s market for international firms and new financing exceeding $100 billion for other developing economies as he opened a forum Wednesday on his signature Belt and Road infrastructure policy.
“We will comprehensively remove restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector,” Xi said, adding that China would further open up “cross-border trade and investment in services and expand market access for digital products,” as well as carry out reforms of state-owned enterprises and in sectors such as the digital economy, intellectual property rights and government procurement.
Addressing the forum right after Xi, Putin praised BRI as leading to a “fairer, multipolar world,” according to a translation of his speech by state broadcaster CGTN., who is the sole government leader attending from the European Union. Their meeting was a rare instance of the Russian president meeting a European leader since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022.
China became a major financer of development projects under BRI, on par with the World Bank. The Chinese government says the initiative has launched more than 3,000 projects and “galvanized” nearly $1 trillion in investment.