China offers $10 bln loans to central Asian countries

Chinese President Hu Jintao said Thursday China will offer $10 billion in loans to support economic cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which groups China, Russia and four Central Asian nations. The loans will also be used to promote the development of the SCO members, the Chinese president said while addressing the two-day SCO summit in Beijing, which began Wednesday, according to the official ( Xinhua ) News Agency. He said China will help train 1,500 experts from other members over the next three years. It is also going to provide 30,000 government scholarships and invite 10,000 Confucius Institute teachers and students to come to China for research and study over the next decade. \"We should build the SCO into a driving force to boost regional economic development,\" he told the audience. He urged all SCO members to work hard in constructing infrastructure like railways, roads, aviation, telecommunications and power grids to promote regional connectivity. The Chinese president also called for the establishment of a development bank, food security cooperation mechanism, energy club and seed banks, and for the promotion of trade and investment facilitation.