Stroll.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China welcomes the United States' participation in the Silk Road Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
During the APEC Summit in Beijing, Xi told U.S. President Barack Obama that China's initiatives and proposals are open and inclusive, including the creation of the Silk Road Fund, the AIIB and a new Asian security concept.
The Chinese president said that he welcomes the active participation of other countries, especially the United States, in China's initiatives and proposals.
Xi's remarks came after the Chinese leader announced China's contribution of $40 billion to create the Silk Road Fund.
The Silk Road Fund is intended to finance industrial and financial cooperation as well as build infrastructures and other related projects to connect countries along the "Belt and Road." The "Belt and Road" refers to the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road Economic Belt China raised.
Last month alone, 21 countries from Asia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the AIIB. It has an expected initial capital worth $50 billion.
Meanwhile, Xi put forward his new Asian security concept during the fourth summit of the the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Shanghai last May.
The new security concept, Xi said, calls for a comprehensive, sustainable, common and cooperative Asian security strategy.
During the Wednesday talks, Xi and Obama emphasized their countries' commitment to establish good and stable relations between two of the world's largest economies.
The talks have been a breakthrough considering that the two leaders have been at each others' nose because of security issues, both in the U.S. and Asia, that turned U.S.-China relations sour.
By far, the APEC Summit discussions have been cordial and progress has been made in the areas of tariff reduction, expansion of the Information Technology Agreement and carbon emission reductions.
Obama arrived in Beijing Monday to attend the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and pay a state visit to China at Xi's invitation.
