Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 15

As India chose to boycott the two-day One Belt, One Road (OBOR) Summit in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping today called the OBOR as the ‘project of the century’ and stressed all countries should respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. India has chosen to stay away from the summit on the grounds that the initiative and some of its projects violate its sovereignty.The Chinese President today sought to assure the world at large that Beijing was not using this as a front to expand its influence globally. That is the suspicion which India and many western countries, including the US, which nevertheless did send a top adviser to the summit, harbour.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)However, what ought to worry India is that apart from the fact that Russian President Vladmir Putin and Turkish President Erdogan were in attendance and supportive of the OBOR initiative, is the close linking of Pakistan’s economy with China as part of the OBOR.Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Xi a day before the summit got underway and both countries moved closer on many accounts. Sharif in his comments today said CPEC was “open” to all the countries in the region and the “issue must not be politicised”. The reference to India was loud and clear in Sharif’s comments.“It is time we transcend our differences, resolve conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, and leave a legacy of peace for future generations,” Sharif said.