China’s Xi Jinping vows transparency at Belt and Road Initiative summit

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will focus on transparency and clean governance, President Xi Jinping said at the opening of a summit on his grand plan on Friday, adding that the massive infrastructure and trade plan should result in "high-quality" growth for everyone.

The initiative is seen by some as a bid for geopolitical influence and has been criticised for indebting recipient countries.

China has not said exactly how much money will be needed in total, but some independent estimates suggest it will run into several trillion dollars.

Beijing has repeatedly said it is not seeking to trap anyone with debt and only has good intentions, and has been looking to use this week's three-day summit in Beijing to recalibrate the policy and address those concerns.

"Everything should be done in a transparent way and we should have zero tolerance for corruption," Xi said in a keynote speech.

"Building high-quality, sustainable, risk-resistant, reasonably priced, and inclusive infrastructure will help countries to fully utilise their resource endowments."

Unlike the first summit in 2017, where Xi said Chinese banks would lend 380 billion yuan ($56.43bn) to support Belt and Road cooperation, he did not give a figure for new financing support. But Xi is expected to give another speech on Saturday.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said his country's electricity supplies had increased "massively" with the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

China has pledged more than $60bn to Pakistan in loans and investments for roads, ports, power plants and industrial parks making the country one of the largest BRI recipients.

Khan said Pakistan was looking forward to the project moving into its next phase focusing on "social uplift", poverty alleviation, agriculture and industry, including the opening of special economic zones.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the environment could also benefit.

The scale of planned Belt and Road investments "offers a meaningful opportunity to contribute to the creation of a more equitable, prosperous world for all, and to reversing the negative impact of climate change", Guterres said.