U.S., China clash over ‘belt and road’ plan at UN

The United States and China clashed Friday over Beijing’s $1-trillion US “belt and road” global infrastructure program after the Security Council unanimously approved a bare-bones resolution extending the mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan for six months.

Last year’s resolution extending the mission’s mandate for a year welcomed and urged further efforts to strengthen regional economic co-operation involving Afghanistan, including through the massive “belt and road” initiative to link China to Europe, Africa and other parts of Asia. The 2016 and 2017 council resolutions had similar language.

Council diplomats said China wanted the “belt and road” language included in this year’s resolution — but the United States objected.

U.S. deputy ambassador Jonathan Cohen told the council after the vote that “China held the resolution hostage and insisted on making it about Chinese national political priorities rather than the people of Afghanistan.”

He said the Trump administration opposed China’s demand “that the resolution highlight its belt and road initiative, despite its tenuous ties to Afghanistan and known problems with corruption, debt distress, environmental damage, and lack of transparency.”

China’s deputy ambassador Wu Haitao countered that Cohen’s remarks were “at variance with the facts and are fraught with prejudice.” He also said one council member — almost certainly referring to the U.S. — “poisoned the atmosphere” which led to the council’s failure to adopt a substantive resolution.

Wu noted that since the “belt and road” initiative was launched six years ago, 123 countries and 29 international organizations have signed agreements of co-operation with China on joint development programs.

“The ‘belt and road’ initiative is conducive to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and economic development,” Wu said. “Under this framework, China and Afghanistan will continue to strengthen co-operation in various fields, promote economic and social development in the country and the integration of Afghanistan into regional development.”

He stressed that the program “has nothing to do with geopolitics.”

German UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen expressed hope that in the next six months, the UN would be able to overcome its differences and adopt a resolution that also reflects on the peace process and the upcoming elections.