BEIJING — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday urged the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to increase its support for Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“I hope that the AIIB will stay committed to open regionalism and persevere in promoting connection and communication among Asian countries and countries across the world,” Li said in Mandarin through an official English translation.
“It is important to strengthen the synergy between the bank and the Belt and Road Initiative and Global Development Initiative,” Li said, referring to two Beijing-led programs.
His speech at the opening ceremony of the bank’s 10th annual meeting comes amid a pullback of U.S. support for Western-led institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which U.S. President Donald Trump claims unfairly benefit other nations.
Premier Li’s “comments signal China’s ongoing attempts to capitalize on the chaos caused by Trump’s trade and economic policies,” said Stephen Olson, a visiting senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and a former U.S. trade negotiator.
