US$15b invested in new Silk Road last year: Xi

Shanghai

CHINESE companies invested nearly US$15 billion in countries participating in Beijing's new Silk Road initiative last year, up one-fifth from 2014, President Xi Jinping said in Uzbekistan, lauding a scheme that is one of his key foreign policies.

Under the programme, announced by Mr Xi in 2013, and also known as the "One Belt, One Road" programme, China aims to invest in infrastructure projects including railways and power grids in central, west and southern Asia, as well as Africa and Europe.