Chinese President Xi Jinping promised greater access to China’s market for international firms and new financing exceeding $100 billion for other developing economies as he opened a forum Wednesday on his signature Belt and Road infrastructure policy.
The initiative has built power plants, roads, railroads and ports around the world and deepened China’s relations with Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast. But the massive loans that funded the projects have burdened poorer countries with heavy debts, in some cases leading to China taking control of those assets.
