Beijing: China on Thursday slammed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for “slandering” its Belt and Road project, saying that the Beijing’s connectivity-project “comes not with strings attached but shackles”.
The US has long accused China of ensnaring poor countries in “debt trap” by providing them with loans under its mega-Belt and Road project that aims to connect Europe with Asia via a network of roads, sea lanes and ports.
India strongly opposed the artery of the Belt and Road project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the route which passes through the disputed part of Kashmir held by Islamabad and claimed by New Delhi.
Pompeo raked up the issue during his India visit on Wednesday.
“Countries in this part of the world that have signed on to the Belt and Road Initiative projects have found that Beijing’s deal comes not with strings attached but shackles,” he said.
Beijing reacted sharply saying he seems to be “under a spell or something”.
“I don’t know if Mr. Pompeo is under a spell or something, but he keeps talking about BRI wherever he goes. Unfortunately, people don’t seem to be listening to him and his slandering of the BRI,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said. (IANS)
