China welcomes
all countries to participate in this weekend's forum on China's new Silk Road
plan, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, after the United States warned
China that North Korea's attendance could affect other countries'
participation.
Two sources
with knowledge of the situation said the U.S. embassy in Beijing had submitted
a diplomatic note to China's foreign ministry, saying that inviting North Korea
sent the wrong message at a time when the world was trying to pressure
Pyongyang over its repeated missile and nuclear tests.
The spat over
North Korea threatens to overshadow the summit, China's most important
diplomatic event of the year for an initiative championed by Chinese President
Xi Jinping.
Asked about
the U.S. note, China's Foreign Ministry said in a short statement sent to
Reuters that it did "not understand the situation".
The statement
added: "The Belt and Road initiative is an open and inclusive one. We
welcome all countries delegations to attend the Belt and Road Forum for
International Cooperation".
The ministry
did not elaborate. It said on Tuesday that North Korea would send a delegation
to the summit but gave no other details.
China has not
announced who North Korea's chief delegate will be, but South Korea's Yonhap
news agency said Kim Yong Jae, North Korea's minister of external economic
relations, will lead the delegation.
Delegates will
hold a series of sessions on Sunday afternoon to discuss the plan in more
detail, including trade and finance. China has given few details about
attendees.
Leaders from
29 countries will attend the forum in Beijing on May 14-15, an event
orchestrated to promote Xi's vision of expanding links between Asia, Africa and
Europe underpinned by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.
Some Western
diplomats have expressed unease about both the summit and the plan as a whole,
seeing it as an attempt to promote Chinese influence globally.
China has
rejected criticism of the plan and the summit, saying the scheme is open to
all, is a win-win and aimed only at promoting prosperity.
In an
English-language commentary on Saturday, China's state-run Xinhua news agency
said the new Silk Road, officially called the Belt and Road initiative, would
be a boon for developing countries that had been largely neglected by the West.
"As some
Western countries move backwards by erecting 'walls,' China is contriving to
build bridges, both literal and metaphorical. These bridges are China's
important offering to the world, and a key route to improving global
governance," it said.
Despite
Chinese anger at North Korea's repeated nuclear and missile tests, China
remains the isolated state's most important economic and diplomatic backer,
even as Beijing has signed up for tough U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.
China has over
the years tried to coax North Korea into cautious, export-oriented economic
reforms, rather than saber rattling and nuclear tests, but to little avail.
REUTERS
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