China to invest $1.25 trillion abroad over next decade

Outbound investment from China will total $1.25 trillion over the next 10 years, says China’s president Xi Jinping. The show of China’s economic muscle days before a Beijing summit with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama is seen as a bid to counter U.S. efforts aimed at boosting influence in Asia. Speaking to executives at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Beijing, Xi added that 500 million Chinese tourists will go abroad in the same period, and the government will also spend $40 billion to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route between Asia and Europe. China’s economy is targeted to grow at about 7.5 per cent this year, the slowest since 1990, and Xi said a growth rate around 7 per cent would still make the country a top performer.

China’s development will generate huge opportunities and benefits and hold lasting and infinite promise. As China’s overall national strength grows, China will be both capable and willing to provide more public goods for the Asia Pacific and the world.

Chinese president Xi Jinping

China is rolling out counter-offers for each promise made by President Obama. For example, Xi is pushing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific in response to the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership, which excludes China. An Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank mostly financed with money from Beijing is also seen as an answer to the Asian Development Bank and other multinational lenders where the U.S. and Japan have the most influence. Xi’s proposal for the free-trade agreement won praise from leaders including Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who said she didn’t see it as “mutually exclusive to other arrangements”.

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