China’s President Xi Jinping signaled a recalibration of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as he sought to mitigate foreign critics who blame Beijing for pushing excessive lending onto developing economies, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Opening a forum on the BRI in Beijing, he pledged that China would ensure the financial sustainability of the initiative’s projects in the future.
“Everything should be done in a transparent way, and we should have a zero tolerance for corruption,” Xi said in his speech.
Xi also said that he would open domestic markets, make financing of the country’s overseas investments more transparent and ease import and customs barriers.