US leaders to skip China’s belt and road summit as financing and governance concerns persist
- Top officials from Washington opt against joining almost 40 leaders China says will head to Beijing in late April
- ‘We will continue to raise concerns about opaque financing practices, poor governance and disregard for internationally accepted norms,’ spokesperson says
The United States will not send high-level officials to attend China’s second “Belt and Road Initiative” summit in Beijing this month, a spokesperson for the US State Department said on Tuesday, citing concerns about financing practices for the project.
The first summit for the project, which envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with massive infrastructure spending, was held in 2017 and was attended by Matt Pottinger, the senior White House official for Asia. There are no such plans this year.
“We will not send high-level officials from the United States,” a spokesperson for the US State Department said in answer to a question from Reuters.
“We will continue to raise concerns about opaque financing practices, poor governance and disregard for internationally accepted norms and standards, which undermine many of the standards and principles that we rely upon to promote sustainable, inclusive development and to maintain stability and a rules-based order.
“We have repeatedly called on China to address these concerns.”