China embarks on belt and road publicity blitz after Malaysia says no to debt-heavy infrastructure projects
State news agency claims widespread international support for programme despite a minority of foreign media and internet users in countries along the route having a positive view of the plans
Chinese state media have embarked on another publicity blitz for the country’s global infrastructure drive, this time just days after the Malaysian government halted three billion-dollar Beijing-backed projects.
“The Belt and Road Initiative originates from China, but belongs to the world,” it said. “In the past five years, it has transformed from a proposal into concrete action, turning ideas into practice, and today has become the world’s biggest international cooperation platform, and the most popular international public product.”
Xinhua also published a commentary about the “widespread recognition of the initiative” for “illuminating the dreams of millions of people”, and a report hailing the expanded train service between China and Europe as a “team of iron and steel camels” on the belt and road.
The latest state media promotion comes hard on the heels of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s announcement last week that the controversial the US$20 billion East Coast Rail Link and two pipelines worth over US$2 billion had been cancelled to avoid adding to the Southeast Asian country’s debt.
It also comes amid rising fears over Beijing’s use of the belt and road to gain political leverage in the dozens of countries that have signed onto the trillion-US dollar drive.