UN embraces China’s New Silk Road initiative; US, Western powers join Beijing forum

A view of Gwadar Fish Harbor Photo Umair Adeeb/Wikimedia Commons

Seeing a win-win equation for the international community from China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said both are rooted in a shared vision for global development.

“Both strive to create opportunities, global public goods and win-win cooperation. And both aim to deepen ‘connectivity’ across countries and regions: connectivity in infrastructure, trade, finance, policies and, perhaps most important of all, among peoples,” the Secretary-General said in Beijing, according to a UN statement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a colossal amount of $ 124 billion to the development of the ‘One Belt One Road’  – a plan of inter-regional connectivity through land and maritime routes – which has been called a revived form of ancient Silk Road and a massive globalizing project.

The United States and several Western powers sent their representatives to Beijing as more than 60 countries participated in the forum on the initiative which China says will stimulate trade and economic growth along the ancient Silk Road and beyond.

Pakistan is a key part of the initiative with a $ 54 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor promising to open up new vistas of trade and investment at the confluence of energy-rich, developing and rich countries.

India is the only country that opposes the initiative on the pretext of violation of its sovereignty as part of the CPEC highway passes through disputed Kashmir region. Both Pakistan and India claim the region in its entirety and control parts of it.

“In order for the participating countries along the Belt and Road to fully benefit from the potential of enhanced connectivity, it is crucial to strengthen the links between the Initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals,” Guterres noted, adding that the 17 Goals can guide the policies and actions under the Belt and Road towards true sustainable development, according to the text of his speech released at UN Headquarters in New York.

The plan envisages nearly $1 trillion worth of infrastructure investments in Africa, Asia and Europe. As these projects – which include bridges, nuclear plants and railways – unfold, Guterres highlighted the need to work together to uphold international environmental and social standards, and ensuring that rural areas, not just cities, benefit.

“With the initiative expected to generate vast investments in infrastructure, let us seize the moment to help countries make the transition to clean-energy, low-carbon pathways – instead of locking in unsustainable practices for decades to come,” he said, praising Chinese leadership on climate change.

He also urged donor countries to continue investing in development projects through official development assistance (ODA), and urged them to fulfil their commitments under the Addis Ababa Plan of Action, which finances projects related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Guterres also called on Governments to settle peacefully any tensions related to the One Belt, One Road initiative, saying that “just as the initiative opens new corridors for goods, let us also keep open the channels for dialogue.”

He praised the initiative for its “immense potential” to promote access to markets, and as “far-reaching in geography and ambition.”