If China wants to quieten ‘belt and road’ critics, it must meet global investing rules, says former securities watchdog boss
- Xiao Gang, former China Securities Regulatory Commission chairman, says belt and road investment built solely on Chinese funds is unsustainable
- It was his first public speech overseas since stepping down as securities watchdog chief after China’s stock market meltdown
China should make sure its investment and financing projects meet international standards to quell overseas criticism of its “Belt and Road Initiative”, a former head of China’s securities watchdog said in Washington on Wednesday.
Xiao Gang, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference policy advisory body and a former chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, also said belt and road investment built solely around Chinese funds was not sustainable. He called for diverse sources of funding to balance risks as the infrastructure programme moved into its next stages.
In his first public speech overseas since stepping down as CSRC chief in early 2016 Xiao said it was “not plausible” to adapt all projects to all international rules.
It also was “not the best choice” to delay belt and road projects by waiting for the present climate of scepticism to pass, he said.
Xiao has kept a low profile since he was forced out of his CSRC job in the aftermath of a stock market meltdown.