China struggles to ease concerns over Silk Road project as summit looms

SAFEGUARDING INTERESTS

The EU last year proposed its own infrastructure scheme, but it has denied it is trying to counter China's ambitions.

"For China it is a question of power projection. China is corrupting what should be a level playing field by offering loans that send country debts soaring and create a culture of economic dependency on Beijing," one EU official said.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, a Merkel confidant, is attending the summit, along with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, with Altmaier saying they wanted to "safeguard European interests in co-operation with China there".

Several EU officials said the European Commission was still looking at who to send as a replacement for Vice President Jyrki Katainen, who attended 2017's Belt and Road summit and has cited a calendar clash with the EU-Japan summit for not being able to go this time.

China has been on a push to show that the Belt and Road remains popular, despite cooling enthusiasm from governments including in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the Maldives, where new administrations are wary of deals struck with China by their predecessors.

The Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, who ranks below Yang, last month touted the success of the $57-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a major Belt and Road scheme.

Wang said after meeting Pakistan's foreign minister that less than 20 percent of funding for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor came from Chinese loans, with the rest made up of direct Chinese investment and free grants.

The corridor focuses on the interests of ordinary people, Wang said, citing as an example women truck drivers trained to work at a coal mine connected to the project, which he described as a "touching story".

Wang told reporters at March's annual meeting of parliament that the Belt and Road was about high quality, sustainable, green development.

"As President Xi has said, the Belt and Road initiative comes from China, but the achievements belong to the world," Wang said.