Xi Jinping Defends China's Belt and Road Initiative Amid Western Concerns

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against decoupling from China as he opened the Belt and Road forum in Beijing.

Xi lauded his BRI plan of building global infrastructure connecting Asia, Africa and Europe through land and sea routes.

Xi pushed back against Western efforts to reduce dependence on the Chinese economy.

Western leaders aim to "de-risk", not "decouple", saying they want to diversify supply chains dependent on China.

Xi is moving BRI away from big projects like dams to high-tech ones like digital finance and e-commerce.