After India's PoK Concerns, China's Xi Calls For 'Respect For Sovereignty'

Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said all countries should respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as he inaugurated the high profile Belt and Road forum boycotted by India due to concerns relating to a controversial economic corridor traversing through PoK.

In his opening address outlining China's vision, 63-year-old Xi referred to ancient Silk Road and spoke about the significance of various civilisations, including the "Indus and Ganges civilisations".

"Pursuing the Belt and Road initiative, China has no intention to form a small group detrimental to stability," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The Belt and Road initiative should be built into a road for peace, as the pursuit of the initiative requires a peaceful and stable environment, Xi told the forum attended by 29 heads of state and government besides representatives of over 100 countries and international organisations.

"The ancient silk routes thrived in times of peace but lost vigour in times of war. The pursuit of the Belt and Road initiative requires a peaceful and stable environment," Xi said.

"We should foster a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, and we should forge partnerships of dialogue with no confrontation and of friendship rather than an alliance," he said.

He said China will provide assistance worth 60 billion yuan ($8.7 billion) to developing nations and international organisations participating in the Belt and Road initiative to launch more projects to improve people's well-being.

China will set up 50 joint laboratories with countries participating in the Belt and Road initiative to enhance cooperation on innovation, he said.

Also, China will encourage financial institutions to conduct overseas RMB fund business with an estimated amount of 300 billion yuan (about $43.5 billion), Xi said.

"Spanning thousands of miles and years, the ancient silk routes embody the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit," Xi told an audience of more than 1,500 from across the globe.

"The Silk Road spirit has become a great heritage of human civilisation," he said.