Chinese President Xi Jinping has said his country's Belt and Road Initiative will focus on transparency and clean governance during his keynote address at the second forum on the global infrastructure project.
"Everything should be done in a transparent way and we should have zero tolerance for corruption," Xi told an audience that included representatives from more than 100 countries, including nearly 40 heads of state and government.
Xi said China encouraged participating companies to be transparent in the procurement and tendering phase of contracts for the project, which was unveiled by Beijing over five years ago.
The world's second-largest economy has pledged to pour trillions into the construction of roads, bridges, railways, pipelines and shipping routes around the world, but some fear it's fuelling local corruption.
China's leader said the BRI must take a "development-oriented approach".
The US accuses Beijing of using the project as a debt trap to lure developing countries into turning over important assets in exchange for cheap financing.
In 2017, Sri Lanka was forced to hand over a Chinese-built port when it was unable to repay its loans.
During his keynote speech in Beijing, Xi also addressed ongoing concerns about China's economy, pledging to strengthen intellectual property protection and limit unnecessary forced technology transfers.
Many Western governments, led by the US, have accused China of using the arrangement to steal intellectual property.
Xi also said China would work to phase out "excessive production capacity," a tactic used by domestic firms to prop up their economic forecasts.
The forum, which runs through Saturday, will see Beijing present a reinvigorated "Belt and Road 2.0" with new projects and global partners, most recently adding its first G7 nation, Italy, and soon Switzerland to the list.
