Cui Tiankai: BRI full of opportunities for U.S. companies in third markets

Chinese ambassador to the United States urged Washington to join the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as the U.S. is missing out on opportunities in the "most ambitious development project in history."

Chinese ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai. [File Photo: CGTN]

China is holding the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing this week, and the U.S. has said it would not join the mega-project, which has drawn 126 countries and 29 international organizations.

The BRI was initiated by President Xi Jinping six years ago. So far, total trade between China and other Belt and Road countries has exceeded 6 trillion U.S. dollars and China's investment in these countries has surpassed 80 billion U.S. dollars, the ambassador noted.

He dismissed the so-called underlying agenda or strategy criticism. The reason behind the success is that the initiative focuses on development issues, he stressed.

Cui said: "Building a community with a shared future for mankind is the agenda, as first and foremost, the BRI aims to promote connectivity. The BRI is open, inclusive and transparent. It is not a geopolitical tool, nor is it designed to form an exclusive clique or impose any terms on others."

He went on saying that BRI is not a potential debt trap, as countries that are engaged in the project are real beneficiaries.

Chinese companies have generated over 2 billion U.S. dollars in tax revenue and 300,000 jobs for locals, he cited.

The U.S. should not remain on the sidelines, Cui said, because it means American companies are missing out on opportunities and, more importantly, it has implications on world economic growth.

There are countless opportunities for U.S. corporations under the BRI framework, Cui said, citing some American companies such as General Electric and Citibank that have already participated in the BRI through third markets.

Cui said China aims to enhance trilateral cooperation and encourage cooperation in third markets at the second BRF, and the world's two largest economies should collaborate on this project towards high-quality growth.