Coronavirus only a blip for China’s belt and road plan, says former central bank chief
- Zhou Xiaochuan, a former governor of China’s central bank, says recent setbacks for the Belt and Road Initiative due to the coronavirus will be short-lived
- Ample global capital and low interest rates offer opportunity to ‘optimise existing financing arrangements’, Zhou says
Global monetary easing and low interest rates could benefit the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s former central bank governor said on Monday, brushing aside concerns about the future of Beijing’s top geopolitical project as the global economy is hammered by the coronavirus outbreak.
“The current environment is good for its development as global capital is ample and the cost is relatively low. It’s a good opportunity to raise funds or optimise existing financing arrangements,” Zhou said at a forum organised by Chinese media outlet Caixin via video link.
The belt and road plan is a flagship policy of President Xi Jinping, which seeks to link Asia, Europe and Africa with a network of ports, motorways and railways. While Washington views it as a strategy from Beijing to expand its global influence, the Chinese government is selling it as a multilateral initiative to promote infrastructure investment.
As the coronavirus has spread around the globe, concerns have mounted that the initiative may lose steam as some projects become financially unsustainable due to delays and cost overruns.