China's Belt and Road project is not a "geopolitical tool" or a debt crisis for participating nations, but Beijing welcomes constructive suggestions on how to address concerns over the initiative, the government's top diplomat said on Friday.
Beijing will host a Belt and Roadsummit next week which 37 foreign leaders will attend, including some ofChina's closest allies, though the United States which has been critical of theproject is only sending low level representatives.
The Belt and Road Initiative, as itis formally called, is a key initiative of President Xi Jinping, and envisionsrebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond withmassive infrastructure spending.
But it has proved controversial inmany Western capitals, particularly Washington, which views it as merely ameans to spread Chinese influence abroad and saddle countries withunsustainable debt through nontransparent projects.
The United States has beenparticularly critical of Italy's decision to sign up to the plan last month,during Xi's visit to Rome, the first for a G7 nation.
Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi, thegovernment's top diplomat, told reporters that the Belt and Road scheme hadbrought real benefits to participating countries.
"This partnership relationshipis not a geopolitical tool, but a platform for cooperation," he said.
"You can't put hats like 'debtcrises' onto the head of the Belt and Road, and this is not something anyparticipating country would recognise," Wang added.
"Of course, there is adevelopment process for the Belt and Road. You can't get there in one step, andit's unavoidable it will cause some worries during its development. So wewelcome all sides to come up with constructive suggestions," he said.
Close Allies Coming
The number of foreign leaders at theApril 25-27 summit is up from 29 last time, mainly from China's closest allieslike Pakistan and Russia but also Italy, Switzerland and Austria.
The United States will not sendhigh-level officials, a U.S. State Department spokesman said earlier thismonth, citing concerns about financing practices for the initiative.
Wang said there would be Americans atthe summit, made up of diplomats, state-level officials, executives andacademics, though he did not give details.
"We welcome any country that isinterested to take part. When the United States participates, or whether itparticipates, is up to them to decide," he added.
While the United States and China arecurrently working to end a bitter trade war, they have numerous other areas ofdisagreement, including human rights and U.S. support for self-ruled Taiwan.
China on Monday condemned as"slanderous" criticism U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made of Beijing'spolicies in South America last week.
"The United States has no plansto send high-level officials from Washington to the Belt and Road Forum," aU.S. Embassy in Beijing spokesman said.
"We call upon all countries toensure that their economic diplomacy initiatives adhere tointernationally-accepted norms and standards, promote sustainable, inclusivedevelopment, and advance good governance and strong economic institutions."
At the first Belt and Road summit twoyears ago, the United States submitted a diplomatic note to China complainingabout North Korea's participation, though since then Washington and Pyongyanghave sought to re-set ties, including with two summits between their leaders.
Wang said North Korea would also takepart in this year's summit, but gave no further details.
"I think this is normal as it's an economiccooperation initiative. All countries have the freedom to attend, but I thinkthey don't have the right to prevent any other country from participating. Thisis an open, inclusive platform."
More than 150 countries are sendingdelegations, and there will be some 5,000 guests, Wang said.
