28 heads of state confirm attendance at China’s belt and road summit next month
Absence of leaders from major Western powers is notable on attendance list
Heads of state from more than two dozen countries will attend a major summit in May to discuss China’s new Silk Road initiative, said foreign minister Wang Yi, although there is a notable absence of leaders from major Western countries.
The summit, scheduled to be held on May 14 and 15 in Beijing, will be China’s major diplomatic event this year as it pushes ahead with President Xi Jinping’s flagship “Belt and Road Initiative” to launch a series of infrastructure projects across Asia, Europe and Africa.
Top leaders of 28 countries had confirmed they would attend the summit, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Wang said on Tuesday.
Heads of state from countries in Europe including Hungary, Italy, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Spain would also attend, as well as African leaders from Kenya and Ethiopia.
With the new Silk Road initiative, China is seeking to portray itself as a new champion for globalisation at a time when the world has become increasingly concerned with US President Donald Trump’s anti-globalisation and isolationist agenda.
