China, Western players can collaborate on green BRI, say experts

NEW YORK, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The efforts to encourage green infrastructure, energy, transportation and finance under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework offer opportunities to Chinese and Western financial institutions, companies and research organizations to collaborate with each other, according to experts and an online survey.

It's likely to see collaboration between Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Western multilateral, international development banks and financial institutions, because they have a mandate to collaborate with international players and a commitment toward preferring environmental-friendly and climate-beneficial projects, according to Jackson Ewing, senior fellow at Duke University's Nicholas Institute of Environmental Policy Solutions.

There are also opportunities for collaboration on financial products, in the private sector and to some extent investments by state-owned enterprises and other corporations, said Ewing on Wednesday at an online panel on green BRI, which was organized by China Institute, a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to deeper understanding of China.

The United States and China could explore opportunities in co-financing and co-investment in other emerging markets through signing third-party cooperation agreements, said Yingzhi Sarah Tang, research fellow at the Green Belt and Road Initiative Center with International Institute of Green Finance (IIGF) in Beijing.

The sophisticated financial markets and innovative financial insurance in the United States could be combined with Chinese leading efforts in green finance, said Tang.

An on-line survey along with the panel discussion shows that 74 percent of respondents believe the environmental protection goals in the green BRI is a potential area where the United States and China could collaborate.

"That's great that we see clear consensus that this is an area where the United States and China can and should collaborate on," said Earl Carr, founder and chief executive officer at New York-based CJPA Global Advisors.

While much media coverage of BRI in the United States is through the lens of threat and competition, the other side of the coin is that China is filling a vital infrastructure gap in many developing countries and the gap is not being filled by development finance institutions in the United States and Europe as well as international, multilateral developments banks, said Ewing.

China's movement into this investment space is having positive impacts on road connectivity, rail connectivity, the building of ports, telecommunication infrastructure and energy infrastructure as well as connecting different markets, Ewing said.

China and the United States also have the opportunity for some virtuous competition through supply chains, production capacities and applications of finance, which leads to positive outcomes for the recipient countries, he said.

China aims to enhance cooperation in multiple areas with the countries along the Belt and Road by 2025 and form a green development pattern for the initiative by 2030, according to a guideline issued by Chinese National Development and Reform Commission and three relevant departments in March this year.