China invites US to join Belt and Road

China encouraged the United States to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, which it said has "opened the gate of opportunities" for US enterprises, China's ambassador to the US said on Monday.

Ambassador Cui Tiankai said at the International Finance and Infrastructure Cooperation Forum in New York that China hoped the US takes a proactive role and attends the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which is scheduled for May 14 and May 15 in Beijing.

The Belt and Road is an open and inclusive platform for development and cooperation, not an arena for geographic strategy, he said in the keynote speech in New York, at the forum hosted by Bloomberg LP and the China General Chamber of Commerce.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the two components of the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2013, aim to revive the ancient land and sea trade routes and boost interconnection between Asia and the rest of the world.

Cui said the Belt and Road Initiative is dedicated to boosting such ties between countries along the trade routes rather than formulating an exclusive group. The initiative aims to achieve benefits through consultation and cooperation, he added.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a forward-looking proposal reflecting the economic, social and technological demand of the 21st century, Cui said, adding it could build wide cooperative partnerships and contribute to worldwide development, prosperity and stability.

The ambassador also called on the business circles to continue playing a leading role in building up the Sino-US relationship.

During his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida earlier this month, Xi said, "There are a thousand reasons to make the China-US relationship a success, and not a single reason to break it."

Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations studies at Renmin University of China, said the US should not be bypassed in the process of building up of the Belt and Road.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and chairwoman of Schiller Institute, a political and economic think tank, said at a conference on April 13 that the US should join the "fantastic new project" of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The Belt and Road cooperation could use the Chinese experience to build up US infrastructure," she said at the conference in New York.

Trump can become "one of the greatest presidents in the history of the US" if he joins with China and other nations in the Belt and Road Initiative, she added.

(China Daily USA 04/26/2017 page1)