Silk Road ‘not a geopolitical tool’

A man selling Chinese drums walk past a decoration promoting the upcoming Road and Belt Forum in Beijing on Friday, April 19, 2019. China is downplaying the political implications of its global development campaign known as the Belt and Road initiative, saying that it aims to boost multilateralism amid protectionist trends in the U.S. and elsewhere. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

BEIJING: China’s Belt and Road project is not a “geopolitical tool” or a debt crisis for participating nations, but Beijing welcomes constructive suggestions on how to address concerns over the initiative, the government’s top diplomat said.

Beijing will host a Belt and Road summit next week, which 37 foreign leaders will attend including some of China’s closest allies, though the United States which has been critical of the project is only sending low level representatives.