Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the European Union in Brussels, challenged the widely-held perception in Brussels and other Western capitals that the Belt and Road Initiative aims to undermine U.S. and European influence around the world.
If that was the case, he said, “I don’t think that would be welcome by the other part of the world, by the Global South.”
Fu made the remarks during an unusually candid discussion on Tuesday hosted by the European news site Euractiv where he also addressed the new initiatives from the U.S. and Europe that are ostensibly intended to challenge China’s BRI:
- WELCOME THE COMPETITION: “As far as China is concerned, we are ready to cooperate. In fact, we are heartened to see that the BRI has motivated some major initiatives on the part of Western countries. The latest IMEC and the Global Gateway initiative from Europe. We see this as a good thing, even though some Western politicians say all of these are counterbalancing to the BRI, but in our view, we do not see them as a counterweight, we see them as complementary.”
- CHINA CAN’T DO IT ALONE: “We know the world needs much more investment in terms of basic infrastructure in the Global South and China alone cannot afford to make all of this happen, so there is no reason we should become counterweights against each other.”
- WE DON’T CARE WHAT THE WEST SAYS: “When it comes to the BRI, whether it’s good or bad, we need to listen more to the receiving countries. We know there is a lot of criticism in the Western media and also from Western governments sometimes but we care more about the reactions from the receiving states, especially in the Global South.”
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The biggest takeaway from Tuesday’s discussion with Ambassador Fu was that a Chinese representative was there at all to participate in this kind of unscripted event. Chinese diplomats, scholars and other stakeholders have become reluctant to engage in any kind of on-the-record public discussion that Fu’s presence alone was notable.
SUGGESGTED READING AND VIEWING:
- Euractiv: Chinese ambassador: Belt-and-Road is not an effort to undermine the West by Georgi Gotev
- Watch the full event: The Belt and Road Initiative – Where are we 10 years on?
