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China's Silk Road forum latest effort to boost Xi's stature

Associated Press
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In this May 11, 2017 photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center left, and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive for a welcome ceremony for Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. China will seek to burnish President Xi Jinping’s stature as a world-class statesman at an international gathering centered on his signature foreign policy effort envisioning a future world order in which all roads lead to Beijing. The “Belt and Road Forum” opening Sunday, May 14 is the latest in a series of high-profile appearances aimed at projecting Xi’s influence on the global stage ahead of a key congress of the ruling Communist Party later this year. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) (The Associated Press)

In this May 11, 2017 photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping walks during a welcome ceremony for Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. China will seek to burnish President Xi Jinping’s stature as a world-class statesman at an international gathering centered on his signature foreign policy effort envisioning a future world order in which all roads lead to Beijing. The “Belt and Road Forum” opening Sunday, May 14 is the latest in a series of high-profile appearances aimed at projecting Xi’s influence on the global stage ahead of a key congress of the ruling Communist Party later this year. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) (The Associated Press)

In this April 28, 2017 photo, an attendee at a conference looks up near a portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping with the words "Xi Jinping and One Belt One Road" and "One Belt One Road strategy," in Beijing. China will seek to burnish President Xi Jinping’s stature as a world-class statesman at an international gathering centered on his signature foreign policy effort envisioning a future world order in which all roads lead to Beijing. The “Belt and Road Forum” opening Sunday, May 14 is the latest in a series of high-profile appearances aimed at projecting Xi’s influence on the global stage ahead of a key congress of the ruling Communist Party later this year. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) (The Associated Press)

China will seek to burnish President Xi Jinping's stature as a statesman at a gathering centered on his signature foreign policy effort envisioning a future world order in which all roads lead to Beijing.

The "Belt and Road Forum" opening Sunday is the latest high-profile appearance by Xi aimed at projecting his influence on the global stage ahead of a key ruling Communist Party congress later this year. All feed a fundamental yearning among ordinary Chinese: to see their country's prestige and status rise.

Attendees will include Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, but Western nations are largely sending lower-level officials. That's partly because of domestic situations but also reflects concerns that China may be exporting its own ideas of governance, while indebting poor countries.