China set to woo Asean with US$40 billion infrastructure fund
Premier Li Keqiang will try to boost Beijing's influence with promises of infrastructure cash at a regional summit in Myanmar, say analysts
China is expected to try to boost its geopolitical influence in Southeast Asia to offset the power of the United States by promoting its new regional infrastructure fund as Premier Li Keqiang starts his state visit to Myanmar today, analysts said.
Li, along with other state leaders, including US President Barack Obama, will gather in Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, for a two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
Li will also pay a formal visit to the country.
China will likely flesh out its "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" proposal, which was put forward by President Xi Jinping . The initiative is aimed at increasing China's ties with the region.
"Maritime cooperation might get a push from the meeting this week given it fits well into the maritime Silk Road campaign," said Xu Lipin, a Southeast Asian affairs professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
China had set up a 3 billion yuan (HK$3.78 billion) fund in 2011 as part of the Silk Road initiative, but that fund has met with reservations from Asean members, as Southeast Asian nations fear China is too assertive in making territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.