Colombia joins China's Belt and Road

COLOMBIA'S president this week said he intends to sign an accord to join Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative during an upcoming China trip, a move sure to damage already frayed relations with Washington.

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Leftist leader Gustavo Petro said he would sign a “letter of intent” to join the pact when he meets his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping face-to-face in the coming days.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a central pillar of Xi’s bid to expand his country’s economic and political clout overseas.

For more than a decade it has provided investment for infrastructure and other large-scale projects around the world, offering Beijing political and economic leverage in return.