China is due to host representatives of 130 countries for a forum on its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that is likely to be overshadowed by the Israel-Gaza war, and the continuing conflict in Ukraine.
At the top of the forum’s guest list is Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since the Ukraine invasion threw his regime into international isolation, leading the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue a warrant for his arrest.
