Xi, with ‘no limits’ partner Putin, says U.S. holding back Global South

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday laid out a vision for a revamped version of his signature “Belt and Road” investment initiative and promised continued economic support for nations that sign on to China’s remade world order.

With guest of honor Russian President Vladimir Putin, who shares his discontent with the Western-led world order, Xi presented the plan as an alternative route to riches than that offered by the United States and other industrial democracies, which he accused of holding back developing nations with trade sanctions and demands for political reform.

“We do not engage in ideological confrontation, geopolitical games, or form confrontational political cliques,” Xi said from the Great Hall of the People, where representatives from more than 140 countries, largely from the Global South, were in attendance.