China to invest nearly US $900 billion in Silk Road projects

China will invest nearly USD 900 billion in economic corridors along the mega Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road initiatives with funds including from the newly-floated AIIB bank.

Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli said the country is mulling six economic corridors with countries along the Belt and Road trade route to better connect Asia and Europe with funding from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund, state-run China Daily reported.

China has announced USD 40 billion for Silk Road fund last year. Corridors are set to run through China-Mongolia-Russia, New Eurasian Land Bridge, China-Central and West Asia, Indo-China Peninsula and China-Brazil,

Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar, Zhang said at the opening ceremony of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Industry Dialogue on Connectivity in Chongqing municipality yesterday. Meanwhile, China Development Bank, one of the country's policy banks, said it will invest more than USD 890 billion into more than 900 projects involving 60 countries, as part of its efforts to bolster the initiative, the 21st Century Business Herald reported today.

The newspaper cited the bank's vice-president Li Jiping that over USD 10 billion has been poured into projects covering coal and gas, mining, electricity, telecommunications, infrastructure, agriculture, and so on Zhi Luxun, deputy director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Commerce Ministry said China is seeking to boost its trade ties with economies along the new "silk roads" as trade with these countries and regions have become a new engine of China's overall lackluster trade growth.

Trade volume in goods with the 64 economies along the routes, many of which are developing countries has been growing by an average of 22.2 per cent each year since 2001, 4.4 percentage points higher than China's average trade growth during the period, Zhi said.

Total trade volume with economies along the routes in 2014 accounted for 26 per cent of China's total trade, up from 16.2 per cent in 2001, he said. The "One Belt, One Road" initiative, consisting maze of routes on the land and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, (MSR) was first proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, who last year announced USD 40 billion fund to finance the projects. 

Also Read: 'Silk Road plan aimed at reviving China's trade slowdown'