Xi Jinping’s presence at the Belt and Road Forum was dominated by his keynote address during which he announced a raft of new initiatives. However, he also engaged in speedy rounds of bilateral meetings and hosted a banquet on Tuesday night.
During his speech at the banquet, he noted the downturn in global security and economic growth and said that another “golden decade” of his signature Belt and Road Initiative could provide a countertrend.
Highlights of Xi’s Diplomatic Meetings:
- INDONESIA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with Xi on Tuesday. The discussion covered many fields, including integrating supply chains, cross-broader development initiatives and cooperation on energy. It’s unclear whether Jakarta’s mission to finalize support funding for the new Chinese-built Whoosh, but the two officially inaugurated their cooperation on the project and discussed a “Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway economic belt.” (MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS)
- KAZAKHSTAN: Xi met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday. They talked about green energy cooperation, agricultural imports, and expanded rail and logistics cooperation as part of the trans-Caspian Sea transport routes and China-Europe Railway Express projects, both also name-checked in Xi’s keynote speech. (MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS)
- PAPUA NEW GUINEA: In a meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, Xi said China supports a stronger international role for the island country. They talked about enhanced cooperation on infrastructure, agriculture, forestry, and green energy. While Papua New Guinea recently signed a security pact with the United States, China is its main infrastructure partner. (REUTERS)
