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$10b infrastructure fund planned

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-13 08:01

China had planned to announce a $10 billion infrastructure investment fund and offer credit to neighbors at a canceled weekend summit of Asian leaders in Thailand, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Sunday.

He did not reveal a revised timetable for the implementation of the projects or release of credit.

Anti-government protestors forced the cancellation of the summit in Pattaya after they swarmed the venue of the summit.

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had planned to sign an investment deal to mark the end of free-trade-area (FTA) talks. The two plan to complete the construction of the FTA by next year, which will be the world's largest by population.

In a meeting with envoys of the 10 ASEAN countries in Beijing Sunday, Yang detailed measures that Premier Wen Jiabao had planned to offer at the summit.

They include:

A $10 billion China-ASEAN investment cooperation fund to promote infrastructure;

A credit of $15 billion to ASEAN countries, including preferential loans of $1.7 billion for cooperation projects;

270 million yuan ($39.51 million) in aid to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to help them combat the global financial crisis;

Injection of $50 million into the China-ASEAN cooperation fund;

300,000 tons of rice for the emergency East Asia rice reserve; and

Extra 2,000 government scholarships and 200 master's scholarships for public administration students from the developing member countries over the next five years.