Chinese investments related to the Belt and Road initiative have totalled $60 billion since 2013, and Beijing plans to invest $600 billion to $800 billion in the next five years, an official said here.
Ning Jizhe, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, was quoted by Global Times ahead of the two-day Belt and Road Fourm as saying that Chinese investments were expected to touch $120 billion to $130 billion a year over the next five years.
“That would amount to $600 billion to $800 billion in total,” Mr. Ning said.
Loans for project
“This will be a big driving force for a steady recovery in the global economy, and for free trade and investment,” he said. The scrutiny of outbound investments by Chinese regulators will not affect the Belt and Road projects, Mr. Ning said.
On financing, he said China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China have extended $110 billion in loans for the Belt and Road projects by the end of 2016 and China has signed currency swap deals with the countries along the Belt and Road routes totalling 900 billion yuan.
Mr. Ning said from 2013 to 2016, Chinese companies invested over $60 billion in the countries and regions, creating more than 1,80,000 local jobs, and paid $1.1 billion in tax to local governments.
