BEIJING – China will provide over $11.5 billion in loans and aid to neighboring Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, mostly for infrastructure and industrial capacity building, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged $1 billion in funding for infrastructure, $490 million aid for poverty reduction and $10 billion in "special loans," Xinhua said.
Li announced the loans in Bangkok at a summit of countries along the Mekong River, a day after he vowed to help build a railway through Thailand that Xinhua said will cost $10.6 billion.
Few details were given on projects to be funded, but Xinhua said China will export production capacity in the electricity, telecommunication, steel and cement industries, among others.
China also promised to invest $16.4 million to dredge waterways along the Mekong and prevent natural disasters, Xinhua cited Li as saying.
Beijing has previously come under fire from environmentalists for building dams along the upper reaches of the Mekong in southwestern China that have been blamed for flooding along the river.
Dams and hydro-electric power schemes were expected to be high on the agenda of the 5th Greater Mekong Subregion Summit, despite mounting concerns over environmental and social impacts.
China in recent months has devoted considerable diplomatic energy, as well as huge sums of money, to wooing Southeast Asia, where its reputation as a regional powerhouse is blighted by maritime disputes and fears over its long-term intentions.
In November, Beijing pledged $20 billion in soft loans and for infrastructure projects to the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations during a summit in Myanmar.
Experts say China is determined to outmaneuver the U.S., which has embarked on a security and economic "pivot" toward Asia to bolster its trade routes and access to resources as China's rapid economic growth continues.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday urged the semi-autonomous former Portuguese colony of Macau to guard against interference by what he called hostile external forces, following prolonged pro-democracy protests in nearby Hong Kong.
Beijing had accused foreign forces of fostering the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong, where protesters demanded a right to nominate candidates for the city's next leader. The 79-day demonstrations ended in mid-December with both Beijing and Hong Kong leaders refusing to bow to the protesters' demands.
Xi was visiting Macau, a major gambling center, to mark the 15th anniversary of its return to China's jurisdiction, and to host the swearing in ceremony for Macau's newest chief, Chui Sai On. Chui was the only nominee for the position and was elected by a 400-person panel believed to be pro-Beijing.
Both Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions where Beijing allows greater autonomy under a "one country, two systems" arrangement. However, Chinese leaders do not want the more liberal regions to become hotbeds of democracy movements that may threaten the ruling Communist Party's grip on power.
In a message apparently aimed at Hong Kong, Xi said Macau has properly obeyed the "one country, two systems" policy and the Basic Law governing the territory.
Beijing has repeatedly denounced Hong Kong's pro-democracy demonstrations as illegal assemblies that had not only disrupted the territory's social order but also flaunted mainland China's authority. Xi said Macau should combine Beijing's authority with its own autonomy to ensure it walks on the "right path."
"Otherwise, it will be the left foot wearing a right-foot shoe, and the mistake will breed wrongs," Xi said.
Since Xi took power about two years ago, Beijing has ratcheted up rhetoric against foreign interference even though China is becoming ever more intertwined with the global system. Observers say Beijing is vilifying foreign powers and fostering anti-U.S. sentiments to divert public anger over domestic issues and to deflect criticism of the Communist Party.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/china-pledges-11-5-billion-to-mekong-neighbors-looking-to-allay-regional-fears/
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