The Super Belt Friends

Globalization’s not dead.

That was Xi Jinping's message in his keynote speech to the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing on Wednesday.

ICYMI: Marking the Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) 10th anniversary, the BRF has drawn more than 4,000 attendees from 140 countries.

Xi touted the benefits of cooperation (MoFA):

• “As long as everyone regards each other as friends and partners…helping others achieve results will also help oneself.”

He also said de-risking is a dead end:

• “Treating others' development as a threat and economic interdependence as a risk will not make one…develop faster.”

Xi backed up his rhetoric with some cold, hard cash, including:

• Setting up two RMB 350 billion financing windows by the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China
• An additional RMB 80 billion from the Silk Road Fund to support BRI projects

Get smart: Xi is happy to pick up the mantle of globalization that the West has thrown away.

• That's winning China friends and influence throughout the developing world.