- China has said that it was ready to wait for India’s participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.But it has also said that India could be negatively impacted if it joins Belt and Road Initiative at a later stage as it will lose opportunities due to participation of international organisations at the upcoming BRI event.
- Further,China has defended the BRI as an open and inclusive economic cooperation initiative which does not involve territorial and maritime dispute.It dismissed India’s concerns that a part of the BRI project violates India’s sovereignty as it passes through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir(PoK).
- Recently,India had turned down an official invite from China to attend the second Belt and Road Forum meet scheduled to take place later this month.India had also boycotted the first Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in 2017 after protesting against the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious programme to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks along six corridors with the aim of improving (a)regional integration, (b)increasing trade and (c)stimulating economic growth.
