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{{Short description| |
{{Short description|Chinese global infrastructure project}} | ||
{{pp-pc|small=yes}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}} | |||
{{Use American English|date= November 2018}} | {{Use American English|date= November 2018}} | ||
{{Infobox organization | {{Infobox organization | ||
| name |
| name = Belt and Road Initiative | ||
| image = | |||
| image = File:China Belt Road Initiative Landkarte Projekte 2018.jpg | |||
| caption = All heads of delegation at the ] in ], ]. | |||
| image_border = | |||
| map = ] | |||
| size = | |||
| |
| map_caption = Belt and Road Initiative and participant country map | ||
| abbreviation = BRI | |||
| mcaption = | |||
| formation = {{start date and age|2013|df=yes}}<br/>{{start date|2017|df=yes}} (Forum)<br> 2019 (Forum) <br> 2023 (Forum) | |||
| abbreviation = BRI | |||
| status = Active | |||
| motto = | |||
| purpose = Promote economic development and inter-regional connectivity | |||
| formation = {{start date and age|2013|df=yes}}<br>{{start date|2017|df=yes}} (Forum) | |||
| headquarters = | |||
| status = | |||
| founder = {{PRC}} | |||
| purpose = Promote economic development and inter-regional connectivity | |||
| location = Worldwide | |||
| headquarters = | |||
| main_organ = | |||
| founder = {{flag|People's Republic of China}} | |||
| affiliations = | |||
| location = Worldwide | |||
| website = {{Official URL}} | |||
| main_organ = | |||
| affiliations = | |||
| website = https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/ | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{Infobox Chinese | {{Infobox Chinese | ||
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{{Politics of China |expanded = Foreign}} | {{Politics of China |expanded = Foreign}} | ||
<!-- References should be used sparsely in the lead- they go in the body<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.neweurope.eu/article/panama-first-in-latin-america-to-join-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative/ |
<!-- References should be used sparsely in the lead- they go in the body<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 December 2018 |title=Panama first in Latin America to join China's Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://www.neweurope.eu/article/panama-first-in-latin-america-to-join-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative/ |access-date=10 March 2019 |website=New Europe}}</ref><ref name="thefinancialexpress_1551686061">{{Cite web |title=152 countries, int'l organisations sign Belt and Road deals with China |url=http://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/global/152-countries-intl-organisations-sign-belt-and-road-deals-with-china-1551686061 |access-date=10 March 2019 |website=The Financial Express}}</ref>--> | ||
The '''Belt and Road Initiative''' ('''BRI''' or '''B&R'''),<ref name="ndrc_751695">{{Cite web |date=11 May 2019 |title=Wǒ wěi děng yǒuguān bùmén guīfàn "Yīdài Yīlù" chàngyì Yīngwén yì fǎ |script-title=zh:我委等有关部门规范"一带一路"倡议英文译法 |trans-title=Regulations on the English translation of "Belt and Road" Initiative by our Commission and related departments |url=http://www.ndrc.gov.cn/gzdt/201509/t20150921_751695.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511191431/http://www.ndrc.gov.cn/gzdt/201509/t20150921_751695.html |archive-date=11 May 2019 |access-date=7 January 2020 |website=ndrc.gov.cn |publisher=National Development and Reform Commission |language=zh-cn}}</ref> known in China as the '''One Belt One Road'''{{efn|{{Lang-zh|c=一带一路|p=Yīdài Yīlù}}}} and sometimes referred to as the '''New Silk Road''',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative | title=China's Massive Belt and Road Initiative | access-date=11 February 2024 | archive-date=26 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526233755/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative | url-status=live }}</ref> is a global infrastructure ] strategy adopted by the ] in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations.<ref name="AutoLT-1">{{Cite web |title=Belt and Road Initiative |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015644/http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative |archive-date=19 February 2019 |access-date=10 March 2019 |publisher=World Bank}}</ref> The BRI is composed of six urban development land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure and the Maritime Silk Road linked by the development of ports. | |||
The '''Belt and Road Initiative''' ('''BRI''', or '''B&R'''<ref name="ndrc_751695"/>), formerly known as '''One Belt One Road''' ({{lang-zh|link=no|一带一路}}) or '''OBOR''' for short, is a global infrastructure ] strategy adopted by the ] in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations.<ref name="AutoLT-1"/><ref name="AutoLT-2"/> It is considered a centerpiece of the ] ]'s ].<ref name=":0"/> The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" ({{lang-zh|大国外交}}) strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role for global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Stephen |title=China's "Major Country Diplomacy" |url=https://academic.oup.com/fpa/article-abstract/17/2/orab002/6139347?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Foreign Policy Analysis |date=16 February 2021 |doi=10.1093/fpa/orab002 |access-date=21 September 2021|url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Xi originally announced the strategy as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" during an official visit to ] in September 2013. |
] (CCP) ] ] originally announced the strategy as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" during an official visit to ] in September 2013. "Belt" refers to the proposed ] for ] and ] through ] Central Asia along the famed ] ]s of the ]; "road" is short for the ], which refers to the ] ] through Southeast Asia to South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.<ref name="what">{{Cite news |last1=Kuo |first1=Lily |last2=Kommenda |first2=Niko |title=What is China's Belt and Road Initiative? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2018/jul/30/what-china-belt-road-initiative-silk-road-explainer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905062336/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2018/jul/30/what-china-belt-road-initiative-silk-road-explainer |archive-date=5 September 2018 |access-date=5 September 2018 |website=]|date=30 July 2018 }}</ref> | ||
It is considered a centerpiece of Xi Jinping's ].<ref name="Economist 2020">{{Cite news |date=4 June 2020 |title=The pandemic is hurting China's Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-hurting-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219175603/https://www.economist.com/china/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-hurting-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative |archive-date=19 December 2020 |access-date=14 June 2020 |newspaper=] |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy"{{efn|{{lang-zh|大国外交}}}} strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role in global affairs in accordance with its ] and status.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Stephen |date=16 February 2021 |title=China's Major Country Diplomacy |url=https://academic.oup.com/fpa/article-abstract/17/2/orab002/6139347?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Foreign Policy Analysis |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=orab002 |doi=10.1093/fpa/orab002 |access-date=21 September 2021 |archive-date=21 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921151122/https://academic.oup.com/fpa/article-abstract/17/2/orab002/6139347?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref> As of early 2024, more than 140 countries were part of the BRI.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=20}} The participating countries include almost 75% of the world's population and account for more than half of the world's GDP.{{Clarify|reason=Do these population and GDP figures include China?|date=December 2024}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Caridi |first=Giorgio |title=China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace |date=2023 |publisher=] |others=Mher Sahakyan |isbn=978-1-003-35258-7 |location=New York |chapter=BRI's Digital Silk Road and the EU: The Role of Innovation and Communication in the Italian Case Study |oclc=1353290533}}</ref>{{Rp|page=192}} | |||
The initiative was incorporated into the ] in 2017.<ref name=":0" /> The Chinese government calls the initiative "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future."{{r|"centralGovernment"}} The project has a target completion date of 2049,<ref name="pr_780645"/> which will coincide with the centennial of the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s ]. A 2019 study conducted by global economic consultants forecasted that the BRI was likely to boost world GDP by $7.1 trillion per annum by 2040.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New report on the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative predicts boost to global GDP "by over $7 trillion per annum"|url=https://www.ciob.org/media-centre/news/new-report-chinese-belt-and-road-initiative-predicts-boost-global-gdp-%E2%80%9C-over-7|access-date=2021-07-20|website=CIOB|language=en}}</ref> | |||
The initiative was incorporated into the ] in 2017.<ref name="Economist 2020" /> The ] describes the initiative as "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future."<ref name="centralGovernment">{{Cite web |date=28 March 2015 |title=China unveils action plan on Belt and Road Initiative |url=http://english.gov.cn/news/top_news/2015/03/28/content_281475079055789.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417024034/http://english.gov.cn/news/top_news/2015/03/28/content_281475079055789.htm |archive-date=17 April 2018 |access-date=16 April 2018 |website=Gov.cn |agency=]}}</ref> The project has a target completion date of 2049,<ref name="pr_780645">{{Cite web |date=25 March 2019 |title=CrowdReviews Partnered with Strategic Marketing & Exhibitions to Announce: One Belt, One Road Forum |url=https://www.pr.com/press-release/780645 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430071306/https://www.pr.com/press-release/780645 |archive-date=30 April 2019 |access-date=30 April 2019 |website=PR.com}}</ref> which will coincide with the centennial of the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s ]. | |||
Numerous studies conducted by the ] have estimated that BRI can boost trade flows in 155 participating countries by 4.1 percent, as well as cutting the cost of global trade by 1.1 percent to 2.2 percent, and grow the GDP of East Asian and Pacific developing countries by an average of 2.6 to 3.9 percent.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 December 2021 |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative and the global chemical industry - KPMG Global |url=https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2019/12/china-belt-and-road-initiative-and-the-global-chemical-industry.html |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=KPMG |archive-date=26 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526010510/https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2019/12/china-belt-and-road-initiative-and-the-global-chemical-industry.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=World Bank |archive-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518134904/https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative |url-status=live }}</ref> According to London-based consultants ], BRI is likely to increase the world GDP by $7.1 trillion per annum by 2040, and that benefits will be "widespread" as improved infrastructure reduces "frictions that hold back world trade". CEBR also concludes that the project will be likely to attract further countries to join, if the global infrastructure initiative progresses and gains momentum.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 May 2019 |title=Belt and Road Initiative to boost world GDP by over $7 trillion per annum by 2040 |url=https://cebr.com/reports/belt-and-road-initiative-to-boost-world-gdp-by-over-7-trillion-per-annum-by-2040/ |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=CEBR |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925074129/https://cebr.com/reports/belt-and-road-initiative-to-boost-world-gdp-by-over-7-trillion-per-annum-by-2040/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=New report on the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative predicts boost to global GDP "by over $7 trillion per annum" |url=https://www.ciob.org/media-centre/news/new-report-chinese-belt-and-road-initiative-predicts-boost-global-gdp-%E2%80%9C-over-7 |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=CIOB |archive-date=5 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505083756/https://www.ciob.org/media-centre/news/new-report-chinese-belt-and-road-initiative-predicts-boost-global-gdp-%E2%80%9C-over-7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 May 2019 |title=China's giant Belt and Road infrastructure push 'could pump $7 trillion into global GDP' by 2040 |url=https://www.cityam.com/chinas-giant-belt-and-road-infrastructure-push-could-pump-7/ |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=CityAM |archive-date=1 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801022409/https://www.cityam.com/chinas-giant-belt-and-road-infrastructure-push-could-pump-7/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Supporters praise the BRI for its potential to boost the global GDP, particularly in developing countries. However, there has also been criticism over human rights violations and environmental impact, as well as concerns of ] resulting in ] and economic imperialism. These differing perspectives are the subject of active debate.<ref name="Brautigam 2020" /> | |||
==Objectives== | ==Objectives== | ||
===Background=== | ===Background=== | ||
{{Main|China's peaceful rise|Chinese Century|Beijing Consensus|Chinese Dream}} | {{Main|China's peaceful rise|Chinese Century|Beijing Consensus|Chinese Dream}} | ||
China's policy of channeling its construction companies abroad began with Jiang Zemin's ].<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=67}} ]'s BRI built on and expanded this policy<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=67}} as well as built on Jiang's ] policy.<ref name=":Sun">{{Cite book |last=Sun |first=Yi |title=China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment |publisher=] |year=2024 |isbn=9789087284411 |editor-last=Fang |editor-first=Qiang |chapter=Necessitated by Geopolitics: China's Economic and Cultural Initiatives in Central Asia |jstor=jj.15136086 |editor-last2=Li |editor-first2=Xiaobing}}</ref>{{Rp|page=149}} | |||
The initiative was unveiled by ] (CCP) and ] ] in September and October 2013 during visits to ] and ],<ref name="xinhua-chronology"/> and was thereafter promoted by ] ] during ]s to Asia and Europe. The initiative was given intensive coverage by ], and by 2016 had become often featured in the '']''.<ref name="AutoLT-3"/>{{Citation needed|date=November 2020|reason=Dead link to user-generated content}} | |||
Xi announced the BRI concept as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" on 7 September 2013 at ] in ], Kazakhstan <ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=75}} In October 2013 during a speech delivered in Indonesia, Xi stated that China planned to build a "twenty-first century Maritime Silk Road" to enhance cooperation in Southeast Asia and beyond.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=75}} | |||
The stated objectives are "to construct a unified large market and make full use of both international and domestic markets, through ] and integration, to enhance mutual understanding and trust of member nations, resulting in an innovative pattern of capital inflows, ]s, and technology databases."<ref name="uniview"/> The Belt and Road Initiative addresses an "infrastructure gap" and thus has the potential to accelerate economic growth across the ], Africa and ]. A report from the ] estimates that Asia, excluding China, requires up to US$900 billion of infrastructure investments per year over the next decade, mostly in debt instruments, 50% above current infrastructure spending rates.<ref name="World Bank blog"/> The gaping need for long term capital explains why many Asian and Eastern European heads of state "gladly expressed their interest to join this new international financial institution focusing solely on 'real assets' and infrastructure-driven economic growth".<ref name="Analyse Financière"/> | |||
The BRI's stated objectives are "to construct a unified large market and make full use of both international and domestic markets, through ] and integration, to enhance mutual understanding and trust of member nations, resulting in an innovative pattern of capital inflows, ]s, and technology databases."<ref name="uniview">{{Cite web |title=News—Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co., Ltd. |url=http://en.uniview.com/News/News/201809/804999_169683_0.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511095521/http://en.uniview.com/News/News/201809/804999_169683_0.htm |archive-date=11 May 2019 |access-date=11 May 2019 |website=en.uniview.com}}</ref> The Belt and Road Initiative addresses an "infrastructure gap" and thus has the potential to accelerate economic growth across the ], Africa and ]. A report from the ] estimates that Asia, excluding China, requires up to US$900 billion of infrastructure investments per year over the next decade, mostly in debt instruments, 50% above current infrastructure spending rates.<ref name="World Bank blog">{{Cite news |author=Nicolas Firzli |date=February 2017 |title=World Pensions Council: Pension Investment in Infrastructure Debt: A New Source of Capital |work=World Bank blog World Pensions & Investments Forum World Pensions Council (WPC) |url=http://blogs.worldbank.org/ppps/pension-investment-infrastructure-debt-new-source-capital-project-finance/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606060630/https://blogs.worldbank.org/ppps/pension-investment-infrastructure-debt-new-source-capital-project-finance |archive-date=6 June 2017}}</ref> The gaping need for long-term capital explains why many Asian and Eastern European heads of state "gladly expressed their interest in joining this new international financial institution focusing solely on 'real assets' and infrastructure-driven economic growth".<ref name="Analyse Financière">{{Cite news |author=M. Nicolas J. Firzli |date=October 2015 |title=China's Asian Infrastructure Bank and the 'New Great Game' |work=Analyse Financière: World Pensions & Investments Forum World Pensions Council (WPC) |url=https://www.academia.edu/19535167 |url-status=live |access-date=5 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129073111/http://www.academia.edu/19535167/China_s_AIIB_America_s_Pivot_to_Asia_and_the_Geopolitics_of_Infrastructure_Investments |archive-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> | |||
The initial focus has been infrastructure investment, education, construction materials, railway and highway, automobile, real estate, power grid, and iron and steel.<ref name="AutoLT-4"/> Already, some estimates list the Belt and Road Initiative as one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, covering more than 68 countries, including 65% of the ] and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017.<ref name="time_4776845"/><ref name="cnn_20170511_asia" /> The project builds on the old trade routes that once connected China to the west, ] and ]'s routes in the north and the maritime expedition routes of ] admiral ] in the south. The Belt and Road Initiative now refers to the entire geographical area of the historic "]" ], which has been continuously used in antiquity.<ref name="AutoLT-5"/> Development of the ] as a currency of international transactions, development of the infrastructures of Asian countries, strengthening diplomatic relations whilst reducing dependency on the US and creating new markets for Chinese products, exporting surplus industrial capacity, and integrating commodities-rich countries more closely into the Chinese economy are all objectives of the BRI.<ref name="dhakatribune_20171031_one"/> | |||
The initial focus has been infrastructure investment, education, construction materials, railway and highway, automobile, real estate, power grid, and iron and steel.<ref name="AutoLT-4">{{Cite news |last=General Office of Leading Group of Advancing the Building of the Belt and Road Initiative |year=2016 |title=Belt and Road in Big Data 2016 |work=Beijing: the Commercial Press}}</ref> Already, some estimates list the Belt and Road Initiative as one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, covering more than 68 countries, including 65% of the ] and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017.<ref name="time_4776845">{{Cite magazine |title=What to Know About China's Belt and Road Initiative Summit |magazine=Time |url=https://time.com/4776845/china-xi-jinping-belt-road-initiative-obor/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128230549/http://time.com/4776845/china-xi-jinping-belt-road-initiative-obor/ |archive-date=28 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="cnn_20170511_asia">{{Cite news |last=Griffiths |first=James |title=Just what is this One Belt, One Road thing anyway? |publisher=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/asia/china-one-belt-one-road-explainer/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130145534/https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/asia/china-one-belt-one-road-explainer/index.html |archive-date=30 January 2018}}</ref> The project builds on the old trade routes that once connected China to the west, ] and ]'s routes in the north and the maritime expedition routes of ] admiral ] in the south. The Belt and Road Initiative now refers to the entire geographical area of the historic "]" ], which has been continuously used in antiquity.<ref name="AutoLT-5">Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018).</ref> | |||
While some countries, especially in the United States, view the project critically because of possible Chinese influence, others point to the creation of a new global growth engine by connecting and moving Asia, Europe and Africa closer together.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} | |||
The goals of the BRI were officially presented for the first time in a 2015 document, the ''Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Belt and Road''.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=76}} It outlined six economic corridors for trade and investment connectivity would be implemented.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=76}} | |||
The ] industrial country ] has been a partner in the development of the project since March 2019. According to estimates, the entire project today affects more than 60% of the world's population and approximately 35% of the global economy. Trade along the Silk Road could soon account for almost 40% of total world trade, with a large part being by sea. The land route of the Silk Road also appears to remain a niche project in terms of transport volume in the future.<ref name="AutoLT-6"/> | |||
The BRI develops new markets for Chinese firms, channels excess industrial capacity overseas, increases China's access to resources, and strengthens its ties with partner countries.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=34}} The initiative generates its own export demand because Chinese loans enable participating countries to develop infrastructure projects involving Chinese firms and expertise.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=43}} The infrastructure developed also helps China to address the imbalance between its more developed ] and its less developed ].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=43}} | |||
In the maritime silk road, which is already the route for more than half of all containers in the world, deepwater ports are being expanded, logistical hubs are being built and new traffic routes are being created in the hinterland. The maritime silk road runs with its connections from the Chinese coast to the south via ] to ], Singapore and ] through the Strait of Malacca via the Sri Lankan ] towards the southern tip of India via ], the capital of the Maldives, to the East African ], from there to Djibouti, then through the Red Sea via the ] to the Mediterranean, there via ], ] and ] to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of ] with its international free port and its rail connections to Central Europe and the ].<ref name="AutoLT-7"/><ref name="AutoLT-8"/><ref name="AutoLT-9"/><ref name="AutoLT-10"/> | |||
For developing countries, the BRI is appealing because of the opportunities it offers to alleviate their economic disadvantages relative to Western countries.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=49}} The BRI offers them infrastructure development, financial assistance, and technical assistance from China.<ref name=":03" />{{Rp|page=223}} The increase in foreign direct investment and increased trade linkages also increases employment and poverty alleviation for these countries.<ref name=":03" />{{Rp|page=224}} | |||
As a result, ], the ], Northern Europe, and Central Europe are also connected to the maritime silk road and logistically linked to East Africa, ] and China via the ] ports and ]. All in all, the ship connections for container transports between Asia and Europe will be reorganized. In contrast to the longer East Asian traffic via north-west Europe, the southern sea route through the Suez Canal towards the junction Trieste shortens the goods transport by at least four days.<ref name="AutoLT-11"/><ref name="AutoLT-12"/><ref name="AutoLT-13"/> | |||
While some countries, especially the United States, view the project critically because of possible Chinese government influence, others point to the creation of a new global growth engine by connecting and moving Asia, Europe and Africa closer together.<ref name="transportresearch">{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Xueqin |last2=Wong |first2=Yiik Diew |last3=Li |first3=Kevin X. |last4=Yuen |first4=Kum Fai |date=2021 |title=Transport research under Belt and Road Initiative: current trends and future research agenda |url= |journal=Transportmetrica A:Transport Science |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=357–379 |doi=10.1080/23249935.2020.1731008 |hdl=10356/146535 |s2cid=225499859|hdl-access=free }}</ref> | |||
In connection with the Silk Road project, China is also trying to network worldwide research activities.<ref name="AutoLT-14"/> | |||
In the maritime silk road, which is already the route for more than half of all containers in the world, deep-water ports are being expanded, logistical hubs are being built, and new traffic routes are being created in the hinterland. The maritime silk road runs with its connections from the Chinese coast to the south, linking ], ], ], and ], then westward linking the Sri Lankan capital city of ], and ], capital of the Maldives, and onward to East Africa, and the city of ], in Kenya. From there the linkage moves northward to ], through the Red Sea and the ] to the Mediterranean, thereby linking ], ], and ], to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of ], with its international free port and its rail connections to Central Europe and the ].<ref name="AutoLT-7">Christoph He"Wie Amerika Chinas Neue Seidenstraße kontern will" ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', 11 November 2019.</ref><ref name="AutoLT-8">Harry de Wilt: Is One Belt, One Road a China crisis for North Sea main ports? in World Cargo News, 17 December 2019.</ref><ref name="AutoLT-9">"Global shipping and logistic chain reshaped as China's Belt and Road dreams take off" in Hellenic Shipping News, 4 December 2018.</ref><ref name="AutoLT-10">Guido Santevecchi: Di Maio e la Via della Seta: «Faremo i conti nel 2020», siglato accordo su Trieste in Corriere della Sera, 5 November 2019.</ref> | |||
=== Project name === | |||
The official name for the initiative is the ''Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Development Strategy'' ({{zh|labels=no|s=丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路发展战略}}),<ref name="cbbc_20170713"/> which was initially abbreviated as the ''One Belt One Road'' ({{zh|c=一带一路|link=no}}) or the ''OBOR'' strategy. The English translation has been changed to the ''Belt and Road Initiative'' (BRI) since 2016, when the Chinese government considered the emphasis on the words "one" and "strategy" were prone to misinterpretation so they opted for the more inclusive term "initiative" in its translation.<ref name="warontherocks_20190305"/><ref name="Latvia" /> However, "One Belt One Road" is still the reference term in Chinese-language media.<ref name="xinhuanet_1124890399"/> | |||
As a result, ], the ], Northern Europe, and Central Europe are also connected to the maritime silk road and logistically linked to East Africa, ] and China via the ] ports and ]. All in all, the ship connections for container transports between Asia and Europe will be reorganized. In contrast to the longer East Asian traffic via north-west Europe, the southern sea route through the Suez Canal towards the junction Trieste shortens the goods transport by at least four days.<ref name="AutoLT-11">"Triest – Ein Welthafen für Bayern" ''Bayrische Staatszeitung'', 30 November 2018.</ref><ref name="AutoLT-12">Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018), p 112.</ref><ref name="AutoLT-13">Andrew Wheeler: How Trieste could become the Singapore of the Adriatic in Asia Shipping Media – Splash247, 19 February 2019.</ref> | |||
In connection with the Silk Road project, China is also trying to network worldwide research activities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Masood |first=Ehsan |date=May 2019 |title=How China is redrawing the map of world science |journal=] |language=en |volume=569 |issue=7754 |pages=20–23 |doi=10.1038/d41586-019-01124-7 |issn=0028-0836 |doi-access=free|pmid=31043732 |bibcode=2019Natur.569...20M }}</ref> | |||
Simon Shen and Wilson Chan have compared the initiative to the post-World War II Marshall Plan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shen |first1=Simon |last2=Chan |first2=Wilson |date=27 March 2018 |title=A comparative study of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Marshall plan |journal=Palgrave Communications |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1057/s41599-018-0077-9 |issn=2055-1045 |s2cid=4387434 |doi-access=free}}</ref> It is the largest infrastructure investment by a great power since the Marshall Plan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=Simon |title=The Belt and Road City: Geopolitics, Urbanization, and China's Search for a New International Order |last2=Klaus |first2=Ian |publisher=] |isbn=9780300266900 |location=New Haven and London |publication-date=2024 |doi=10.2307/jj.11589102 |jstor=jj.11589102}}</ref>{{Rp|page=1}} | |||
China intentionally frames the BRI flexibly in order to adapt it to changing needs or policies, such as the addition of a "Health Silk Road" during the COVID-19.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=147}} The Health Silk Road (HSR) is an initiative under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aimed at enhancing public health infrastructure and fostering international cooperation in healthcare. Initiated as part of China's broader strategy to engage in global health governance, the HSR seeks to improve healthcare facilities, enhance disease prevention, and strengthen healthcare cooperation across participating countries. The initiative includes the construction of healthcare facilities, such as hospitals in Pakistan and Laos, and collaborative programs with global organizations like the World Health Organization. Academic ] finds that while the HSR contributes to health sector improvements in participating nations, it also prompts discussions regarding the long-term debt sustainability and the transparency of project execution. As the HSR expands, it exemplifies China's role in global health diplomacy, reflecting a complex interplay between development goals and geopolitical strategy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yuan |first=Shaoyu |date=June 2023 |title=The Health Silk Road: A Double-Edged Sword? Assessing the Implications of China's Health Diplomacy |journal=World |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=333–346 |doi=10.3390/world4020021 |doi-access=free |issn=2673-4060}}</ref> | |||
=== Initiative name === | |||
] | |||
The official name for the initiative is the ''Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Development Strategy'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|s=丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路发展战略}}),<ref name="cbbc_20170713">{{Cite web |date=13 July 2017 |title=One Belt One Road |url=http://www.cbbc.org/cbbc/media/cbbc_media/One-Belt-One-Road-main-body.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713011420/http://www.cbbc.org/cbbc/media/cbbc_media/One-Belt-One-Road-main-body.pdf |archive-date=13 July 2017 |access-date=22 March 2019}}</ref> which was initially abbreviated as the ''One Belt One Road'' ({{lang-zh|c=一带一路|link=no}}) or the ''OBOR'' strategy. The English translation has been changed to the ''Belt and Road Initiative'' (BRI) since 2016, when the Chinese government considered the emphasis on the words "one" and "strategy" were prone to misinterpretation and suspicion, so they opted for the more inclusive term "initiative" in its translation.<ref name="warontherocks_20190305">{{Cite web |last=Rolland |first=Nadège |date=5 March 2019 |title=The Geo-Economic Challenge of China's Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://warontherocks.com/2019/03/jaw-jaw-the-geo-economic-challenge-of-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701014926/https://warontherocks.com/2019/03/jaw-jaw-the-geo-economic-challenge-of-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative/ |archive-date=1 July 2019 |access-date=1 July 2019 |website=War on the Rocks |quote=Because initially in the Chinese papers, the name attached to yī dài yī lù, One Belt, One Road, was strategy. And they thought that this idea of strategy is going to create some suspicions from the outside world.}}</ref><ref name="Latvia">{{Cite web |date=28 July 2016 |title=BRI Instead of OBOR – China Edits the English Name of its Most Ambitious International Project |url=http://liia.lv/en/analysis/bri-instead-of-obor-china-edits-the-english-name-of-its-most-ambitious-international-project-532 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206061842/http://liia.lv/en/analysis/bri-instead-of-obor-china-edits-the-english-name-of-its-most-ambitious-international-project-532 |archive-date=6 February 2017 |access-date=15 August 2017 |website=liia.lv}}</ref> However, "One Belt One Road" is still the reference term in Chinese-language media.<ref name="xinhuanet_1124890400">{{Cite web |script-title=zh:王毅:着力打造西部陆海新通道 推动高质量共建"一带一路"-新华网 |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-08/18/c_1124890399.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821145507/http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-08/18/c_1124890399.htm |archive-date=21 August 2019 |access-date=21 August 2019 |language=zh-cn |agency=Xinhua News Agency}}</ref> | |||
===International relations=== | ===International relations=== | ||
The Belt and Road Initiative is believed by some analysts to be a way to extend Chinese economic and political influence.<ref name="cnn_20170511_asia" /><ref name="ft_768954394623">{{Cite news |last=Smyth, Jamie |title=Australia rejects China push on Silk Road strategy |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e30f3122-0eae-11e7-b030-768954394623 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408082600/https://www.ft.com/content/e30f3122-0eae-11e7-b030-768954394623 |archive-date=8 April 2017}}, ''Financial Times'', 22 March 2017</ref> Some geopolitical analysts have couched the Belt and Road Initiative in the context of ]'s ].<ref name="thediplomat_20190126">{{Cite web |last=Sempa |first=Francis P. |date=26 January 2019 |title=China and the World-Island |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/china-and-the-world-island/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126023844/https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/china-and-the-world-island/ |archive-date=26 January 2019 |access-date=1 June 2019 |website=]}}</ref><ref name="foreignpolicy_20180312_chinas">{{Cite web |last=Daly |first=Robert |date=12 March 2018 |title=China's Global Dreams Give Its Neighbors Nightmares |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/12/chinas-global-dreams-are-giving-its-neighbors-nightmares/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601215808/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/12/chinas-global-dreams-are-giving-its-neighbors-nightmares/ |archive-date=1 June 2019 |access-date=1 June 2019 |website=]}}</ref><ref name="bloomberg_20190610_china">{{Cite news |last=Stavridis |first=James |author-link=James G. Stavridis |date=10 June 2019 |title=China and Russia Want to Control the 'World Island' |work=] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-10/china-and-russia-want-to-control-the-world-island |url-status=live |access-date=23 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628185323/https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-10/china-and-russia-want-to-control-the-world-island |archive-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> Scholars have noted that official PRC media attempts to mask any strategic dimensions of the Belt and Road Initiative as a motivation,<ref name="AutoLT-15">{{Cite journal |last=Rolland |first=Nadège |date=12 August 2019 |title=Mapping the footprint of Belt and Road influence operations |url=https://sinopsis.cz/en/rolland-bri-influence-operations/ |url-status=live |journal=Sinopsis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925210415/https://sinopsis.cz/en/rolland-bri-influence-operations/ |archive-date=25 September 2019 |access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref> while others note that the BRI also serves as signposts for Chinese provinces and ministries, guiding their policies and actions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Loh |first=Dylan M H |date=23 April 2021 |title=The 'Chinese Dream' and the 'Belt and Road Initiative': narratives, practices, and sub-state actors |url=https://academic.oup.com/irap/article/21/2/167/5549877 |journal=International Relations of the Asia-Pacific |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=167–199 |doi=10.1093/irap/lcz018 |issn=1470-482X |hdl=10356/145543 |hdl-access=free |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-date=3 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803231725/https://academic.oup.com/irap/article/21/2/167/5549877 |url-status=live }}</ref> Academic ] writes that while the BRI does advance strategic interests for China, it also reflects the CCP's vision of a world order based on "building a global ]".<ref name="Jin 2023" />{{Rp|pages=281–282}} | |||
The Belt and Road Initiative is believed by some analysts to be a way to extend Chinese economic and political influence.<ref name="cnn_20170511_asia" /><ref name="ft_768954394623"/> Some geopolitical analysts have couched the Belt and Road Initiative in the context of ]'s ].<ref name="thediplomat_20190126"/><ref name="foreignpolicy_20180312_chinas"/><ref name="bloomberg_20190610_china"/> Scholars have noted that official PRC media attempts to mask any strategic dimensions of the Belt and Road Initiative as a motivation.<ref name="AutoLT-15"/> China has already invested billions of dollars in several South Asian countries like ], ], ], ] and ] to improve their basic infrastructure, with implications for China's trade regime as well as its military influence. This project can also become a new economic corridor for different regions. For example, in the Caucasus region, China considered cooperations with ] from May 2019. Chinese and Armenian sides had multiple meetings, signed contracts, initiated a north–south road program to solve even infrastructure-related aspects.<ref>{{Cite web|title=China ready to reveal new directions with Armenia for construction of One Belt, One Road|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/975933.html|access-date=2021-05-02|website=armenpress.am|language=en}}</ref> | |||
China has already invested billions of dollars in several South Asian countries like ], ], ], ] and ] to improve their basic infrastructure, with implications for China's trade regime as well as its military influence. This project can also become a new economic corridor for different regions. For example, in the ] region, China considered cooperation with ] from May 2019. Chinese and Armenian sides had multiple meetings, signed contracts, initiated a north–south road program to solve even infrastructure-related aspects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=China ready to reveal new directions with Armenia for construction of One Belt, One Road |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/975933.html |access-date=2 May 2021 |website=armenpress.am |date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502000821/https://armenpress.am/eng/news/975933.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
China has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sources of ] (FDI) into India{{Snd}}it was the 17th largest in 2016, up from the 28th rank in 2014 and 35th in 2011, according to India's official ranking of FDI inflows.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} | |||
==== Military implications ==== | |||
The BRI has been viewed as part of a strategy to lessen the effect of ]s such as the ] in the event of a military conflict and to blunt the U.S. ].<ref>{{Citation |last=Rice |first=Dana |title=An Overview of China's Belt and Road Initiative and Its Development Since 2013 |date=2023 |work=Securitization and Democracy in Eurasia |pages=255–266 |editor-last=Mihr |editor-first=Anja |place=Cham |publisher=] |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-16659-4_17 |isbn=978-3-031-16658-7 |editor2-last=Sorbello |editor2-first=Paolo |editor3-last=Weiffen |editor3-first=Brigitte|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 6, 2023 |title=The path ahead for China's Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2023/09/06/the-path-ahead-for-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-08-05 |newspaper=] |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=9 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909222201/https://www.economist.com/china/2023/09/06/the-path-ahead-for-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Euan |date=14 September 2018 |title=Belt and Road: more than just a brand |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/belt-road-more-just-brand |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=7 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807191840/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/belt-road-more-just-brand |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hao |first1=Wu |last2=Shah |first2=Syed Mehmood Ali |last3=Nawaz |first3=Ahsan |last4=Asad |first4=Ali |last5=Iqbal |first5=Shahid |last6=Zahoor |first6=Hafiz |last7=Maqsoom |first7=Ahsen |date=2020-10-12 |editor-last=Khater |editor-first=M. A. Mostafa |title=The Impact of Energy Cooperation and the Role of the One Belt and Road Initiative in Revolutionizing the Geopolitics of Energy among Regional Economic Powers |journal=] |language=en |volume=2020 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1155/2020/8820021 |issn=1099-0526 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2023 study by ] of the ] determined that overseas port locations subject to significant BRI investment raise questions of dual military and civilian use and may be favorable for future naval bases.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Lendon |first1=Brad |last2=McCarthy |first2=Simone |date=2 September 2023 |title=Blue-water ambitions: Is China looking beyond its neighborhood now it has the world's largest navy? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/01/asia/china-navy-overseas-military-bases-intl-hnk-ml/index.html |access-date=4 September 2023 |website=] |archive-date=29 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529130905/https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/01/asia/china-navy-overseas-military-bases-intl-hnk-ml/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wooley |first1=Alex |last2=Zhang |first2=Sheng |last3=Fedorochko |first3=Rory |last4=Patterson |first4=Sarina |date=25 July 2023 |title=Harboring Global Ambitions: China's Ports Footprint and Implications for Future Overseas Naval Bases |url=https://www.aiddata.org/publications/harboring-global-ambitions |access-date=4 September 2023 |website=] |archive-date=4 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904003838/https://www.aiddata.org/publications/harboring-global-ambitions |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Writing in 2023, ] and academic Joshua Eisenman state that through the BRI, China seeks to strengthen its position and diminish American military influence, but that China's BRI activity is likely not a prelude to American-style military bases or American-style global military presence.<ref name="Shinn 2023" />{{Rp|page=161}} | |||
Other analysts characterize China's construction of ports which could have ] as an attempt to avoid the necessity of establishing strictly military bases.<ref name="Shinn 2023" />{{Rp|page=273}} According to academic Xue Guifang, China is not motivated to repeat the model of the ].<ref name="Shinn 2023" />{{Rp|page=273}} | |||
===Western regions=== | ===Western regions=== | ||
{{Further|Xinjiang conflict|Persecution of Uyghurs in China}} | |||
BRI's goals include internal state-building and stabilisation of ethnic unrest for its vast inland western regions such as ] and ], linking these less developed regions, with increased flows of international trade facilitating closer economic integration with China's inland core.<ref name="AutoLT-16"/> | |||
Economic development of China's less developed western regions, particularly ], is one of the government's stated goals in pursuing the BRI.<ref name="AutoLT-16">{{Cite journal |last=Yu |first=Hong |date=November 2016 |title=Motivation behind China's 'One Belt, One Road' Initiatives and Establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank |journal=] |volume=26 |issue=105 |pages=353–368 |doi=10.1080/10670564.2016.1245894 |s2cid=157430852 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Šimalčík |first=Matej |title=Contemporary China: a New Superpower? |publisher=] |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-03-239508-1 |editor-last=Kironska |editor-first=Kristina |chapter=China in the World |editor-last2=Turscanyi |editor-first2=Richard Q.}}</ref>{{Rp|page=199}} The strategic location of Xinjiang has also been recognized as central. In 2014, ] outlet ] stated Xinjiang "connects Pakistan, Mongolia, Russia, India, and four other central Asian countries with a borderline extending 5,600 km, giving it easy access to the Eurasian heartland."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sobolik |first=Michael Scott |title=Countering China's Great Game |date=2024-04-15 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-68247-951-3 |pages=139 |language=en}}</ref> Some analysts have suggested that the CCP considers Xinjiang's local population, the ], and their attachment to their traditional lands potential threats to the BRI's success, or it fears that developing Xinjiang may also open it up to radicalizing Islamic influences from other states which are participating in the BRI.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hayes |first1=Anna |date=2 January 2020 |title=Interwoven 'Destinies': The Significance of Xinjiang to the China Dream, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Xi Jinping Legacy |journal=] |volume=29 |issue=121 |pages=31–45 |doi=10.1080/10670564.2019.1621528 |s2cid=191742114}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kashgarian |first1=Asim |last2=Hussein |first2=Rikar |date=22 December 2019 |title=China's Plan in Xinjiang Seen as Key Factor in Uighur Crackdown |url=https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/chinas-plan-xinjiang-seen-key-factor-uighur-crackdown |access-date=25 December 2019 |work=] |archive-date=23 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223232707/https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/chinas-plan-xinjiang-seen-key-factor-uighur-crackdown |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=28 April 2019 |title=Xinjiang crackdown at the heart of China's 'Belt and Road' |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1668516/xinjiang-crackdown-at-the-heart-of-chinas-belt-and-road |access-date=24 July 2020 |work=] |agency=] |archive-date=4 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704124513/https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1668516/xinjiang-crackdown-at-the-heart-of-chinas-belt-and-road |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gladney |first=Dru C. |author-link=Dru C. Gladney |date=September 27, 2018 |title=Xinjiang: Bridge Or Barrier To Xi Jinping's Belt And Road Initiative? |url=https://www.hoover.org/research/xinjiang-bridge-or-barrier-xi-jinpings-belt-and-road-initiative |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=12 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512184231/https://www.hoover.org/research/xinjiang-bridge-or-barrier-xi-jinpings-belt-and-road-initiative |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
== Leadership == | == Leadership == | ||
A ] was formed sometime in late 2014, and its leadership line-up publicized on 1 February 2015. This steering committee reports directly into the ] and is composed of several political heavyweights, evidence of the importance of the program to the government. Then Vice-Premier ], who was also a member of the 7-man ], was named leader of the group, and ], ], ], and ] named deputy leaders.<ref name="Feng"/> | A ] was formed sometime in late 2014, and its leadership line-up publicized on 1 February 2015. This steering committee reports directly into the ] and is composed of several political heavyweights, evidence of the importance of the program to the government. Then Vice-Premier ], who was also a member of the 7-man ], was named leader of the group, and ], ], ], and ] named deputy leaders.<ref name="Feng">{{Cite news |date=5 April 2015 |script-title=zh:一带一路领导班子"一正四副"名单首曝光 |language=zh-hans |work=Ifeng |url=http://news.ifeng.com/a/20150405/43488218_0.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223044614/http://news.ifeng.com/a/20150405/43488218_0.shtml |archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> | ||
On 28 March 2015, China's State Council outlined the principles, framework, key areas of cooperation and cooperation mechanisms with regard to the initiative.<ref name="ndrc_669367">{{Cite news |date=28 March 2015 |title=Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road |work=National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), People's Republic of China |url=http://en.ndrc.gov.cn/newsrelease/201503/t20150330_669367.html |url-status=dead |access-date=28 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127225143/http://en.ndrc.gov.cn/newsrelease/201503/t20150330_669367.html |archive-date=27 November 2018}}</ref> The BRI is considered a central element within ], and was incorporated into the ] in 2017 during its ].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Goh |first1=Brenda |last2=Ruwitch |first2=John |date=October 24, 2017 |title=Pressure on as Xi's 'Belt and Road' enshrined in Chinese party charter |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1CT1H9/ |access-date=July 27, 2024 |work=]}}</ref><ref name="Shinn 2023">{{Cite book |last1=Shinn |first1=David H. |title=China's Relations with Africa: a New Era of Strategic Engagement |last2=Eisenman |first2=Joshua |date=2023 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-231-21001-0 |location=New York |author-link=David H. Shinn}}</ref>{{Rp|page=58}} The BRI represents a set of policies for Chinese engagement with the ], including diversifying resource and energy supplies, building loan-funded infrastructure using Chinese companies, creating new markets for Chinese companies, and engaging global South countries simultaneously at bilateral and regional levels.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=6}} | |||
On 28 March 2015, China's State Council outlined the principles, framework, key areas of cooperation and cooperation mechanisms with regard to the initiative.<ref name="ndrc_669367"/> The BRI is considered a strategic element within the ], and was incorporated into its ] in 2017.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
With regard to China and the African countries, the ] is a significant multi-lateral cooperation mechanism for facilitating BRI projects.<ref name="Murphy 2022">{{Cite book |last=Murphy |first=Dawn C. |title=China's rise in the Global South : the Middle East, Africa, and Beijing's alternative world order |date=2022 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-5036-3060-4 |location=Stanford, California |pages=244 |doi=10.2307/jj.8305946 |jstor=jj.8305946 |oclc=1249712936}}</ref> The ] serves a similar coordinating role with regard to BRI projects in the Arab states.<ref name="Murphy 2022" /> | |||
==Membership== | |||
{{Update section|date=July 2024|inaccurate=yes}}<!-- The references in this paragraph are lists of all participants in the Belt and Road Initiative. Specific press releases confirming the participation of individual countries can be found in the Xinhua reference. Additional citations have been provided for individual countries where available. This does not mean that citations are unavailable for the other countries, as it is a conscious editing decision to keep this page's reference list of a manageable length (there are 148 member countries). --> | |||
Countries join the Belt and Road Initiative by signing a memorandum of understanding with China regarding their participation in it. The Government of China maintains a listing of all involved countries on its Belt and Road Portal,<ref name=belt-and-road-portal>{{cite web |title=国别 - 中国一带一路网 |url=https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/country |website=Belt and Road Portal |publisher=National Development and Reform Commission, Xinhua News Agency |access-date=13 July 2023 |language=Chinese |archive-date=13 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713083230/https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/country |url-status=live }}</ref> and state media outlet Xinhua News Agency puts out a press release whenever a memorandum of understanding related to the Belt and Road Initiative is signed with a new country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Belt and Road Countries |url=https://en.imsilkroad.com/catlist/500 |publisher=Xinhua Silk Road Information Service |access-date=13 July 2023 |archive-date=13 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713083232/https://en.imsilkroad.com/catlist/500 |url-status=live }}</ref> Not counting China, there were 154 countries formally affiliated with the Belt and Road Initiative {{As of|2023|8}} according to observers at ]'s Green Finance and Development Center,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nedopil |first=Christoph |title=Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – Green Finance & Development Center |url=https://greenfdc.org/countries-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-bri/ |access-date=19 June 2023 |archive-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518091931/https://greenfdc.org/countries-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-bri/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and an independent analysis from Germany from the same time also found 148 member states out of 249 political entities surveyed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Steinert |first1=Christoph |last2=Weyrauch |first2=David |title=Collecting data on Membership in the Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://bri-project.github.io/posts/2022/03/blog-post-22-001/ |website=Analyzing the BRI |access-date=13 July 2023 |date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=30 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930151820/https://bri-project.github.io/posts/2022/03/blog-post-22-001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] additionally found 139 member countries as of March 2021;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sacks |first1=David |title=Countries in China's Belt and Road Initiative: Who's In And Who's Out |url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/countries-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-whos-and-whos-out |publisher=] |access-date=13 July 2023 |date=24 March 2021 |archive-date=29 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529130915/https://www.cfr.org/blog/countries-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-whos-and-whos-out |url-status=live }}</ref> countries that are documented as joining since then include Syria<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=Tom |title=Syria Officially Joins China's Belt and Road, Seeking Lifeline to Defy U.S. Sanctions |url=https://www.newsweek.com/syria-officially-joins-chinas-belt-road-seeking-lifeline-defy-us-sanctions-1668849 |publisher=] |access-date=13 July 2023 |date=12 January 2022 |archive-date=21 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921235604/https://www.newsweek.com/syria-officially-joins-chinas-belt-road-seeking-lifeline-defy-us-sanctions-1668849 |url-status=live }}</ref> and Argentina.<ref>{{cite web |title=Argentina and China seal Silk Road deal |url=https://www.dw.com/en/argentina-and-china-seal-silk-road-deal/a-60679278 |publisher=] |access-date=13 July 2023 |date=6 February 2022 |archive-date=13 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713175452/https://www.dw.com/en/argentina-and-china-seal-silk-road-deal/a-60679278 |url-status=live }}</ref> The full list of current members according to the Chinese government<ref name="belt-and-road-portal" /> is below: | |||
=== Current members === | |||
{{div col}} | |||
#{{flag|Afghanistan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org">{{Cite web|url=https://greenfdc.org/countries-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-bri/|title=Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – Green Finance & Development Center|first=Christoph|last=Nedopil|accessdate=30 July 2023|archive-date=18 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518091931/https://greenfdc.org/countries-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-bri/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
#{{flag|Albania}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Algeria}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Angola}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Armenia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Austria}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Azerbaijan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Bahrain}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Bangladesh}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Barbados}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Belarus}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Benin}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Bolivia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Botswana}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Brunei}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Bulgaria}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Burkina Faso}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.ndrc.gov.cn/news/pressreleases/202111/t20211130_1306258.html|title=【The Chinese Government and the Government of Burkina Faso Signed the Belt and Road Initiative Cooperation Document】-National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) People's Republic of China|website=en.ndrc.gov.cn|accessdate=30 July 2023|archive-date=27 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627232745/https://en.ndrc.gov.cn/news/pressreleases/202111/t20211130_1306258.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
#{{flag|Burundi}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Cambodia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Cape Verde}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Cameroon}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Central African Republic}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Chad}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Chile}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|China}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Comoros}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{DRC}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Republic of Congo}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Cook Islands}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Costa Rica}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Croatia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Cuba}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Cyprus}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Czech Republic}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Djibouti}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Dominica}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Dominican Republic}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Ecuador}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Egypt}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|El Salvador}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Equatorial Guinea}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Eritrea}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Ethiopia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Fiji}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Gabon}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Gambia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Georgia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Ghana}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Greece}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Grenada}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Guinea}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Guinea-Bissau}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Guyana}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Honduras}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedialogue.org/analysis/what-will-honduras-gain-by-establishing-ties-with-china/|title=What Will Honduras Gain By Establishing Ties With China?|date=24 March 2023|website=The Dialogue|access-date=10 May 2023|archive-date=29 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529130920/https://www.thedialogue.org/analysis/what-will-honduras-gain-by-establishing-ties-with-china/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
#{{flag|Hungary}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Indonesia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Iran}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Iraq}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Ivory Coast}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Jamaica}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Jordan}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zawya.com/en/projects/bri/china-welcomes-jordans-active-participation-in-belt-and-road-initiative-k739hak0|title=China welcomes Jordan's active participation in Belt and Road Initiative|first1=Jocelyn|last1=Chau|first2=The Jordan|last2=Times|website=www.zawya.com|accessdate=30 July 2023|archive-date=30 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730162434/https://www.zawya.com/en/projects/bri/china-welcomes-jordans-active-participation-in-belt-and-road-initiative-k739hak0|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
#{{flag|Kazakhstan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Kenya}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Kiribati}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Kuwait}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Laos}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Latvia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Lebanon}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Lesotho}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Liberia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Libya}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Lithuania}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Luxembourg}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Madagascar}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Malawi}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Malaysia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Maldives}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Mali}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Malta}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Mauritania}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Mauritius}}<ref name="thediplomat.com">{{cite web |title=China's Belt and Road Makes Inroads in Africa |website=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517102405/https://thediplomat.com/2018/07/chinas-belt-and-road-makes-inroads-in-africa/ |archive-date=17 May 2023 |url-status=live |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/07/chinas-belt-and-road-makes-inroads-in-africa/}}</ref> | |||
#{{flag|Micronesia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Moldova}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Mongolia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Montenegro}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Morocco}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Mozambique}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Myanmar}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Namibia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Nepal}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|New Zealand}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Nicaragua}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Niger}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Nigeria}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Niue}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|North Macedonia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Oman}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Pakistan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Palestine}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Panama}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Papua New Guinea}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Peru}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Poland}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Portugal}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Qatar}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Romania}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Russia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Rwanda}}<ref name="thediplomat.com"/> | |||
#{{flag|Samoa}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{STP}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.news.cn/english/2021-12/02/c_1310346980.htm|title=China, Sao Tome and Principe vow to strengthen pragmatic cooperation|website=www.news.cn|accessdate=30 July 2023|archive-date=13 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513114651/http://www.news.cn/english/2021-12/02/c_1310346980.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
#{{flag|Saudi Arabia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Senegal}}<ref name="thediplomat.com"/> | |||
#{{flag|Serbia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Seychelles}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Sierra Leone}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Singapore}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Slovakia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Slovenia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Solomon Islands}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Somalia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|South Africa}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|South Sudan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Sri Lanka}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Sudan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Suriname}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Syria}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Tajikistan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Tanzania}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Thailand}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Timor-Leste}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Togo}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Tonga}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Trinidad and Tobago}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Tunisia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Turkey}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Turkmenistan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Uganda}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|United Arab Emirates}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Uruguay}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Uzbekistan}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Vanuatu}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Venezuela}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Vietnam}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Yemen}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Zambia}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
#{{flag|Zimbabwe}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/> | |||
{{div col end}} | |||
=== Past members === | |||
#{{flag|Estonia}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://vm.ee/en/china#economic-cooperation | title=China | Välisministeerium | access-date=16 April 2024 | archive-date=20 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420144525/https://vm.ee/en/china#economic-cooperation | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
#{{flag|Italy}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/why-italy-withdrawing-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative | title=Why is Italy Withdrawing from China's Belt and Road Initiative? | access-date=29 August 2023 | archive-date=14 May 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514023126/https://www.cfr.org/blog/why-italy-withdrawing-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
#{{flag|Philippines}}<ref name="greenfdc.org"/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.timesnownews.com/world/after-italy-philippines-to-exit-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-article-104955410| title=After Italy, Philippines To Exit China's Belt and Road Initiative| date=4 November 2023| access-date=5 November 2023| archive-date=5 November 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105120333/https://www.timesnownews.com/world/after-italy-philippines-to-exit-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-article-104955410| url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
==Financing== | ==Financing== | ||
China's investment in the BRI began at a moderate level in 2013 and increased significantly over 2014 and 2015.<ref name=":Jiang">{{Cite book |last=Jiang |first=Ting |title=China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment |publisher=] |year=2024 |isbn=9789087284411 |editor-last=Fang |editor-first=Qiang |chapter=Belt and Road by the Sea: 21st Century Maritime Silk Road |jstor=jj.15136086 |editor-last2=Li |editor-first2=Xiaobing}}</ref>{{Rp|page=214}} Investment volume peaked in 2016 and 2017.<ref name=":Jiang" />{{Rp|page=214}} Afterwards, investments decreased gradually, and then significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name=":Jiang" />{{Rp|page=214}} The BRI's lowest investment volume was in 2023.<ref name=":Jiang" />{{Rp|page=214}} | |||
China's investment in the Maritime Silk Road portion of the BRI has grown at a steady pace.<ref name=":Jiang" />{{Rp|page=214}} As of 2023, Maritime Silk Road investments were 60% of the BRI's total investment volume.<ref name=":Jiang" />{{Rp|page=214}} | |||
===Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)=== | ===Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)=== | ||
{{Infobox Treaty | {{Infobox Treaty | ||
|name = ] | |name = ] | ||
|image =Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank map.svg | |image =Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank map.svg | ||
|image_width = |
|image_width = | ||
|caption ={{legend|lightgreen|Prospective members (regional)}} | |caption ={{legend|lightgreen|Prospective members (regional)}} | ||
{{legend|green|Members (regional)}} | {{legend|green|Members (regional)}} | ||
Line 110: | Line 303: | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{main|Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank}} | {{main|Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank}} | ||
The ], first proposed in October 2013, is a development bank dedicated to lending for infrastructure projects. As of 2015, China announced that over one trillion yuan (US$160 |
The ], first proposed in October 2013, is a development bank dedicated to lending for infrastructure projects. As of 2015, China announced that over one trillion yuan (US$160 billion) of infrastructure-related projects were in planning or construction.<ref name="google_20151216">{{Cite book |last=Wan |first=Ming |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PskwCwAAQBAJ |title=The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: The Construction of Power and the Struggle for the East Asian International Order |date=16 December 2015 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781137593887 |page=70 |access-date=13 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203062903/https://books.google.com/books?id=PskwCwAAQBAJ |archive-date=3 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
The primary goals of AIIB are to address the expanding infrastructure needs across Asia, enhance regional integration, promote economic development and improve public access to social services.<ref name="AutoLT-26"/> | The primary goals of AIIB are to address the expanding infrastructure needs across Asia, enhance regional integration, promote economic development and improve public access to social services.<ref name="AutoLT-26">{{Cite web |title=About AIIB Overview – AIIB |url=https://www.aiib.org/en/about-aiib/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930084526/https://www.aiib.org/en/about-aiib/index.html |archive-date=30 September 2017 |access-date=1 October 2017 |website=aiib.org}}</ref> At inception, the AIIB was explicitly linked to the BRI.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=166}} The AIIB was subsequently broadened to include investments with states that are not involved with the BRI.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=166}} | ||
Loans through AIIB are accessible on AIIB's website, unlike many other forms of Chinese investment through the BRI.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=85}} | |||
The Articles of Agreement (the legal framework) of AIIB were signed in Beijing on 29 June 2015. The proposed bank has an authorized capital of $100 billion, 75% of which will come from Asia and Oceania. China will be the single largest stakeholder, holding 26.63% of voting rights. The board of governors is AIIB's highest decision-making body.<ref name="AutoLT-27"/> The bank began operation on 16 January 2016, and approved its first four loans in June.<ref name="aiib_20190116"/> | |||
===Silk Road Fund=== | ===Silk Road Fund=== | ||
{{For|the main article|Silk Road Fund}} | {{For|the main article|Silk Road Fund}} | ||
On 29 December 2014, China established the Silk Road Fund with total capital of US$40 billion and ¥100 billion.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Shuanglin |title=China's Public Finance: Reforms, Challenges, and Options |date=2022-09-22 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-009-09902-8 |edition=1 |doi=10.1017/9781009099028}}</ref>{{Rp|page=221}} The Silk Road Fund invests in BRI infrastructure, resource development, energy development, industrial cooperation, and financial cooperation.<ref name=":03" />{{Rp|page=221}} The ] in Pakistan was its first project.<ref name=":03" />{{Rp|pages=221–222}} | |||
In November 2014, ] Xi Jinping announced a US$40 billion development fund, which would be separate from the banks and not part of the ] investment. The ] would invest in businesses rather than lend money to the projects. The ], {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} from ], Pakistan, is the first project.<ref name="AutoLT-28"/> The Chinese government has promised to provide Pakistan with at least US$350 million by 2030 to finance this station. The ] commenced work in January 2016.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} | |||
=== China Investment Corporation === | |||
] supports the BRI by investing in its infrastructure projects, participating in other BRI-related development funds, and assisting Chinese corporations with foreign mergers and acquisitions.<ref name="Liu 2023">{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Zongyuan Zoe |title=Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances its Global Ambitions |publisher=The Belknap Press of ] |year=2023 |isbn=9780674271913 |pages= |doi=10.2307/jj.2915805 |jstor=jj.2915805|s2cid=259402050 }}</ref>{{Rp|page=124}} China Investment Corporation also invested in the Silk Road Fund.<ref name=":03" />{{Rp|page=221}} | |||
CIC's domestic subsidiary ] indirectly supports the BRI through its support of domestic financial institutions, such as ]s or ] commercial banks, which in turn fund BRI projects.<ref name="Liu 2023" />{{Rp|page=124}} | |||
=== Policy banks === | |||
Policy banks, including the ] and the ], have important roles in funding BRI projects.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=167}} | |||
=== Other financing === | |||
Between 2015 and 2020, the ] lent over US$185.1 billion for BRI projects.<ref name=":Chen">{{Cite book |last=Chen |first=Muyang |title=The Latecomer's Rise: Policy Banks and the Globalization of China's Development Finance |date=2024 |publisher=] |isbn=9781501775857 |location=Ithaca and London |jstor=10.7591/jj.6230186}}</ref>{{Rp|page=143}} | |||
As of April 2019, the ] had lent over US$100 billion for BRI projects.<ref name=":Chen" />{{Rp|page=143}} | |||
===Debt sustainability=== | ===Debt sustainability=== | ||
In 2017, China joined the G20 Operational Guidelines for Sustainable Financing and in 2019 to the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment. The ] described China's New Debt Sustainability Framework as "virtually identical" to the World Bank's and IMF's own debt sustainability framework.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ocean of debt? Belt and Road and debt diplomacy in the Pacific|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/ocean-debt-belt-and-road-and-debt-diplomacy-pacific|access-date= |
In 2017, China joined the G20 Operational Guidelines for Sustainable Financing and in 2019 to the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment. The ] described China's New Debt Sustainability Framework as "virtually identical" to the World Bank's and IMF's own debt sustainability framework.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ocean of debt? Belt and Road and debt diplomacy in the Pacific |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/ocean-debt-belt-and-road-and-debt-diplomacy-pacific |access-date=24 July 2021 |website=www.lowyinstitute.org |archive-date=26 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526115226/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/ocean-debt-belt-and-road-and-debt-diplomacy-pacific |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=China's New Debt Sustainability Framework Is Largely Borrowed from the World Bank and IMF. Here's Why That Could Be a Problem. |url=https://www.cgdev.org/blog/chinas-new-debt-sustainability-framework-largely-borrowed-world-bank-and-imf-heres-why-could |access-date=24 July 2021 |website=Center For Global Development |archive-date=14 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514023133/https://www.cgdev.org/blog/chinas-new-debt-sustainability-framework-largely-borrowed-world-bank-and-imf-heres-why-could |url-status=live }}</ref> According to academic Jeremy Garlick, for many impoverished countries, China is the best available option for development finance and practical assistance.<ref name="Garlick 2024">{{Cite book |last=Garlick |first=Jeremy |title=Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption |date=2024 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-350-25231-8}}</ref>{{Rp|page=6}} Western investors and the World Bank have been reluctant to invest in troubled countries like Pakistan, Cambodia, Tajikistan, and Montenegro, which China is willing to invest in through the BRI.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|pages=146–147}} Generally, the United States and EU have not offered global South countries with investment comparable to what China offers through the BRI.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=147}} | ||
China is the largest bilateral lender in the world.<ref name="///">{{Cite news |last=Wingo |first=Scott |title=How will China respond when low-income countries can't pay their debts? |newspaper=Washington Post |publisher=WP Company |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/30/how-will-china-respond-when-low-income-countries-cant-pay-their-debts/ |access-date=4 February 2021 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118025333/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/30/how-will-china-respond-when-low-income-countries-cant-pay-their-debts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Loans are backed by ] such as rights to a mine, a port or money.<ref name="Economist 2020" /> | |||
This policy has been alleged by the US Government to be a form of ];{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} however, according to the ]-owned '']'', the term itself has come under scrutiny as analysts and researchers have pointed out that there is no evidence to prove that China is deliberately aiming to do debt-trap diplomacy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 February 2021 |title=No evidence of China's 'debt-trap diplomacy', researchers and analysts say |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3122496/debt-trap-diplomacy-myth-no-evidence-china-pushes-poor-nations |access-date=20 July 2021 |website=] |archive-date=19 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719214434/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3122496/debt-trap-diplomacy-myth-no-evidence-china-pushes-poor-nations |url-status=live }}</ref> Research from ], an international political economy professor at ], and Meg Rithmire, an associate professor at ], have disputed the allegations of debt-trap diplomacy by China and pointed out that "Chinese banks are willing to restructure the terms of existing loans and have never actually seized an asset from any country, much less the ]". In an editorial letter, they argued that it was 'long overdue' for people to know the truth and not to have it be "wilfully misunderstood".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Chinese Debt Trap Is a Myth: The Narrative Wrongfully Portrays Both Beijing and the Developing Countries It Deals With. - Editorial - Faculty & Research |url=https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=59720 |access-date=20 July 2021 |website=] |archive-date=20 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720041831/https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=59720 |url-status=live }}</ref> Writing in 2023, academic and former UK diplomat ] states that China's relationship to the Hambantota port has become the opposite of the theorized debt-trap modus operandi.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Kerry |author-link=Kerry Brown (historian) |title=China Incorporated: The Politics of a World Where China is Number One |date=2023 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-350-26724-4 |location=London}}</ref>{{Rp|page=56}} Brown observes that China has had to commit more money to the project, expose itself to further risk, and has had to become entangled in complex local politics.<ref name=":10" />{{Rp|page=56}}As of 2024, the port has not been a significant economic success, although shipping through the port is on the increase.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=69}} | |||
In his comparison of BRI loans to IMF loans and ] loans, which have not been very successful in reducing the debt of developing countries, academic Jeremy Garlick concludes that there is no reason to believe the BRI framework is worse for developing countries' debt than Western lending frameworks.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=69}} | |||
For China itself, a report from ] doubts Chinese banks' ability to control risks, as they do not have a good record of ] efficiently at home. This may lead to new ] problems for Chinese banks where most funding is likely to originate.<ref name="archive_001071181" /> Additionally, two state-owned banks oversee China's foreign loans and development. | |||
For China itself, a report from ] doubts Chinese banks' ability to control risks, as they do not have a good record of ] efficiently at home. This may lead to new ] problems for Chinese banks where most funding is likely to originate.<ref name="archive_001071181">Peter Wells, Don Weinland, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303050530/http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001071181 |date=3 March 2017}}, ''Financial Times'', 26 January 2017</ref> | |||
It has been suggested by some scholars that critical discussions about an evolving BRI and its financing needs transcend the "debt-trap" meme. This concerns the networked nature of financial centers and the vital role of advanced business services (e.g. law and accounting) that bring agents and sites into view (such as law firms, financial regulators, and offshore centers) that are generally less visible in geopolitical analysis, but vital in the financing of BRI.<ref name="AutoLT-29"/> | |||
In August 2022, China announced that it would forgive 23 of its interest-free loans to 17 African nations.<ref name="Forgives 2022">{{Cite web |date=22 August 2022 |title=China forgives debt for 17 African nations amid accusations of debt trap diplomacy |url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/china-forgives-debt-for-17-african-nations/news-story/28ab7f45440142634ff8efd0360b2fec |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822131156/https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/china-forgives-debt-for-17-african-nations/news-story/28ab7f45440142634ff8efd0360b2fec |archive-date=22 August 2022 |access-date=22 August 2022 |website=]}}</ref> The loans had matured at the end of 2021.<ref name="Forgives 2022" /> | |||
The ] has stopped work on some projects{{Which|date=July 2021}}, while some have been scrapped; focus has been brought on projects that were already of questionable economic viability before the pandemic. Many{{Weasel inline|date=July 2021}} of the loans agreed upon are in or nearing technical default, as many debtor countries reliant on exporting commodities have seen a slump in demand for them. Some debtor countries have started to negotiate to defer payments falling due.<ref name=":0" /> In particular, the African continent owes an estimated $145 billion, much of which involves BRI projects, with $8bn falling due in 2020. Many leaders{{Weasel inline|date=July 2021}} on the continent are demanding debt forgiveness, and ''The Economist'' forecasts a wave of defaults on these loans.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
=== Effects === | |||
In April 2020, in light of the pandemic, the ] decided to freeze debt payments for countries that would struggle to pay them. Interest on Chinese loans continued to accrue during the freeze. In June 2020, Chinese leader Xi Jinping decided to cancel interest-free loans for certain African countries. Since 2000, these types of loans have accounted for 2 to 3 percent of total loans China has issued to African countries. Furthermore, foreign aid is a controversial topic in China due to it having its own areas with significant poverty.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sun|first=Yun|date=2015-10-08|title=The domestic controversy over China's foreign aid and the implications for Africa|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2015/10/08/the-domestic-controversy-over-chinas-foreign-aid-and-the-implications-for-africa/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-08|website=Brookings|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
An analysis of BRI loans from 2007 to 2022 found that they make other forms of financing on the ] more expensive for the debtor country.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 5, 2024 |title=The hidden cost of Chinese loans |url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/12/05/the-hidden-cost-of-chinese-loans |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-12-06 |newspaper=] |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=5 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241205232546/https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/12/05/the-hidden-cost-of-chinese-loans |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
==Infrastructure networks== | ==Infrastructure networks== | ||
The BRI is composed of six urban development land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure and the Maritime Silk Road linked by the development of ports.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=1}} | |||
The Belt and Road Initiative is about improving the physical infrastructure through land corridors that roughly equate to the old Silk Road. The Silk Road, or Silk Roads, has proven to be a productive but at the same time elusive concept, increasingly used as an evocative metaphor.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wahlquist|first=Hakan|title="Albert Herrmann: A missing link in establishing the Silk Road as a concept for Trans-Eurasian networks of trade"|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2399654420911410a|journal=Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space|year=2020|volume=38|issue=5|pages=803–808|doi=10.1177/2399654420911410a|s2cid=220982093}}</ref> With China's ‘Belt and Road Initiative’, it has found fresh invocations and audiences.<ref>"Walquist, Hakan. "Albert Herrmann: A missing link in establishing the Silk Road as a concept for Trans-Eurasian networks of trade" 38.5 (2020): 803–808."</ref> | |||
These are the belts in the name, and there is also a maritime silk road.<ref name="UnitedNations" /> Infrastructure corridors spanning some 60 countries, primarily in Asia and Europe but also including Oceania and East Africa, will cost an estimated US$4–8 trillion.<ref name="ejinsight20160412" /><ref name="Econ27" /> The initiative has been contrasted with the two US-centric trading arrangements, the ] and the ].<ref name="Econ27" /> The initiative projects receive financial support from the ] and the ] while they are technically coordinated by the B&R Summit Forum. The land corridors include:<ref name="UnitedNations" /> | |||
The Silk Road has proven to be a productive but at the same time elusive concept, increasingly used as an evocative metaphor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wahlquist |first=Hakan |year=2020 |title=Albert Herrmann: A missing link in establishing the Silk Road as a concept for Trans-Eurasian networks of trade |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2399654420911410a |pages=803–808 |doi=10.1177/2399654420911410a |issue=5 |journal=Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space |s2cid=220982093 |volume=38 |access-date=17 June 2021 |archive-date=5 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005180333/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2399654420911410a |url-status=live }}</ref> With China's 'Belt and Road Initiative', it has found fresh invocations and audiences.<ref>"Walquist, Hakan. "Albert Herrmann: A missing link in establishing the Silk Road as a concept for Trans-Eurasian networks of trade" 38.5 (2020): 803–808."</ref> | |||
* The ], which runs from Western China to ] through Kazakhstan, and includes the ] through China's ] Autonomous Region, Kazakhstan, Russia, ], Poland and Germany. | |||
These are the belts in the name, and there is also a maritime silk road.<ref name="UnitedNations">{{Cite journal |last1=Ramasamy |first1=Bala |last2=Yeung |first2=Matthew |last3=Utoktham |first3=Chorthip |last4=Duval |first4=Yann |date=November 2017 |title=Trade and trade facilitation along the Belt and Road Initiative corridors |url=http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/AWP172.pdf |url-status=live |journal=ARTNeT Working Paper Series, Bangkok, ESCAP |issue=172 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417025514/http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/AWP172.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2018 |access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> Infrastructure corridors spanning some 60 countries, primarily in Asia and Europe but also including Oceania and East Africa, will cost an estimated US$4–8 trillion.<ref name="ejinsight20160412">{{Cite web |date=12 April 2016 |title=Getting lost in 'One Belt, One Road' |url=http://www.ejinsight.com/20160412-getting-lost-one-belt-one-road/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414014511/http://www.ejinsight.com/20160412-getting-lost-one-belt-one-road/ |archive-date=14 April 2016 |access-date=13 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="Econ27"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223090241/https://www.economist.com/news/china/21701505-chinas-foreign-policy-could-reshape-good-part-world-economy-our-bulldozers-our-rules |date=23 December 2017}}, The Economist, 2 July 2016</ref> The land corridors include:<ref name="UnitedNations" /> | |||
* Another corridor will run from Northern China through Mongolia to the ]. The Russian government-established ] and China's ], a Chinese government investment agency, partnered in 2012 to create the ], which concentrates on opportunities in bilateral integration.<ref name="rcif"/><ref name="china_7207419"/> | |||
* The ] (CPEC) <small>(Chinese:中国-巴基斯坦经济走廊; {{langx|ur|{{nq|پاكستان-چین اقتصادی راہداری}}}})</small> is the most developed land corridor of the BRI, as of at least 2024.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=42}} It is a US$62 billion collection of infrastructure projects throughout Pakistan<ref name="tribune_1381733">{{Cite news |date=12 April 2017 |title=CPEC investment pushed from $55b to $62b – The Express Tribune |newspaper=The Express Tribune |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1381733/cpec-investment-pushed-55b-62b/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515011718/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1381733/cpec-investment-pushed-55b-62b/ |archive-date=15 May 2017 |access-date=14 May 2017 |last1=Siddiqui |first1=Salman }}</ref><ref name="mcclatchydc">{{Cite news |last=Hussain |first=Tom |date=19 April 2015 |title=China's Xi in Pakistan to cement huge infrastructure projects, submarine sales |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article24783286.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802124323/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article24783286.html |archive-date=2 August 2017 |access-date=16 May 2017 |work=] |publisher=mcclatchydc |location=Islamabad}}</ref><ref name="Kiani">{{Cite news |last=Kiani |first=Khaleeq |date=30 September 2016 |title=With a new Chinese loan, CPEC is now worth $57bn |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1287040 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120084540/http://www.dawn.com/news/1287040 |archive-date=20 November 2016 |access-date=19 November 2016 |work=Dawn}}</ref> which aims to rapidly modernize Pakistan's transportation networks, energy infrastructure, and economy.<ref name="mcclatchydc" /><ref name="Kiani" /><ref name="dawn_1153597">{{Cite web |date=23 November 2016 |title=CPEC: The devil is not in the details |url=http://herald.dawn.com/news/1153597/cpec-the-devil-is-not-in-the-details |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514142904/http://herald.dawn.com/news/1153597/cpec-the-devil-is-not-in-the-details |archive-date=14 May 2017 |access-date=14 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="tribune_846370">{{Cite web |date=2 March 2015 |title=Economic corridor: Chinese official sets record straight |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/846370/economic-corridor-chinese-official-sets-record-straight/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802204549/https://tribune.com.pk/story/846370/economic-corridor-chinese-official-sets-record-straight/ |archive-date=2 August 2017 |access-date=14 May 2017 |newspaper=]}}</ref> On 13 November 2016, CPEC became partly operational when Chinese cargo was transported overland to ] for onward maritime shipment to Africa and West Asia.<ref name="atimes_20161116">{{Cite web |last=Ramachandran |first=Sudha |date=16 November 2016 |title=CPEC takes a step forward as violence surges in Balochistan |url=https://asiatimes.com/cpec-takes-step-forward-violence-surges-balochistan/?platform=hootsuite |access-date=19 November 2016 |website=Asia Times Online |archive-date=14 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514023210/https://asiatimes.com/2016/11/cpec-takes-step-forward-violence-surges-balochistan/?platform=hootsuite |url-status=live }}</ref> CPEC and Gwadar port infrastructure is particularly significant because it opens routes independent of the ].<ref name="Zhao 2023">{{Cite book |last=Zhao |first=Suisheng |author-link=Suisheng Zhao |title=The Dragon Roars Back: Transformational Leaders and Dynamics of Chinese Foreign Policy |date=2023 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-5036-3088-8 |location=Stanford, California |pages= |doi=10.1515/9781503634152 |oclc=1331741429}}</ref>{{Rp|page=99}} | |||
* The ], which runs from Western China to ] through Kazakhstan, and includes the ] through China's ] Autonomous Region, Kazakhstan, Russia, ], Poland and Germany. ], Kazakhstan is a major hub for the BRI, including related financial services and legal services.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=45}} ] which straddles the Kazakhstan-China border, is the major ] for this corridor and is the place where rail cargo switches from the standard gauge used in China to the wider gauge used in the former Soviet Union.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=57}} | |||
* The ],<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=39}} running from Northern China through Mongolia to the ]. The Russian government-established ] and China's China Investment Corporation, a Chinese sovereign wealth fund, partnered in 2012 to create the ], which concentrates on opportunities in bilateral integration.<ref name="rcif">{{Cite news |date=9 May 2015 |title=China to step up Russian debt financing |work=] |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2015xiattendwwii/2015-05/09/content_20666880.htm |url-status=live |access-date=23 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723122617/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2015xiattendwwii/2015-05/09/content_20666880.htm |archive-date=23 July 2018}}</ref><ref name="china_7207419">{{Cite web |title=Silk Road Economic Belt_China.org.cn |url=http://china.org.cn/business/node_7207419.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315201700/http://www.china.org.cn/business/node_7207419.htm |archive-date=15 March 2016 |access-date=23 July 2018 |website=china.org.cn}}</ref> | |||
* The ], which will run from Western China to Turkey. | * The ], which will run from Western China to Turkey. | ||
* The ], which will run from Southern China to Singapore. | * The ], which will run from Southern China to Singapore. | ||
* The ], which will turn Nepal from a landlocked to a land-linked country. | * The ], which will turn Nepal from a landlocked to a land-linked country. | ||
This kind of connectivity is the focus of BRI efforts because China's significant economic growth has been supported by exports and the overland import of major quantities of raw materials and intermediate components.<ref name="Zhao 2023" />{{Rp|page=98}} | |||
* The ] (CPEC) <small>(Chinese:中国-巴基斯坦经济走廊; {{lang-ur|{{nq|پاكستان-چین اقتصادی راہداری}}}})</small> which is also classified as "closely related to the Belt and Road Initiative",<ref name="vision" /> a US$62 billion collection of infrastructure projects throughout Pakistan<ref name="tribune_1381733"/><ref name="mcclatchydc"/><ref name="Kiani"/> which aims to rapidly modernize Pakistan's transportation networks, energy infrastructure, and economy.<ref name="mcclatchydc" /><ref name="Kiani" /><ref name="dawn_1153597"/><ref name="tribune_846370"/> On 13 November 2016, CPEC became partly operational when Chinese cargo was transported overland to ] for onward maritime shipment to Africa and West Asia.<ref name="atimes_20161116"/> | |||
By 2022, China had built cross-border highways and expressway networks to almost every nearby region.<ref name="Zhao 2023" />{{Rp|page=99}} | |||
Railway connectivity is a major focus of the BRI.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=62}} Use of BRI-related rail surged after the COVID-19 pandemic, which had congested air freight and sea shipping, and hampered port access.<ref name="Zhao 2023" />{{Rp|page=99}} As of 2024, multiple BRI railway projects were branded as the ], which linked approximately 60 Chinese cities to approximately 50 European cities.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=62}} | |||
===Silk Road Economic Belt=== | ===Silk Road Economic Belt=== | ||
Xi Jinping visited ], Kazakhstan, and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013, and proposed jointly building a new economic area, the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) ({{zh|s=丝绸之路经济带|t=}}).<ref name="Xiat"/> The "belt" includes countries on the original |
Xi Jinping visited ], Kazakhstan, and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013, and proposed jointly building a new economic area, the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) ({{lang-zh|s=丝绸之路经济带|t=}}).<ref name="Xiat">{{Cite news |title=Xi Jinping Calls For Regional Cooperation Via New Silk Road |work=The Astana Times |url=https://astanatimes.com/2013/09/xi-jinping-calls-for-regional-cooperation-via-new-silk-road/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055555/https://astanatimes.com/2013/09/xi-jinping-calls-for-regional-cooperation-via-new-silk-road/ |archive-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> The "belt" includes countries on the original Silk Road through Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The initiative would create a cohesive economic area by building both hard infrastructure such as rail and road links and soft infrastructure such as trade agreements and a common commercial legal structure with a court system to police the agreements.<ref name="what" /> | ||
Besides a zone largely analogous to the historical Silk Road, an expansion includes South Asia and Southeast Asia. The BRI is important from the Southeast Asian perspective because, with the exception of Singapore, Southeast Asian countries require significant infrastructure investment to advance their development.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerstl |first=Alfred |title=Contemporary China: a New Superpower? |publisher=] |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-03-239508-1 |editor-last=Kironska |editor-first=Kristina |chapter=China in its Immediate Neighborhood |editor-last2=Turscanyi |editor-first2=Richard Q.}}</ref>{{Rp|page=210}} | |||
Many of the countries in this belt are also members of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). | |||
Three belts are proposed. The North belt would go through Central Asia and Russia to Europe. The Central belt passes through Central Asia and West Asia to the ] and the ]. The South belt runs from China through Southeast Asia and South Asia and on to the Indian Ocean through Pakistan. The strategy will integrate China with Central Asia through Kazakhstan's ] infrastructure program.<ref name="EUreporterNZ"/> | Three belts are proposed. The North belt would go through Central Asia and Russia to Europe. The Central belt passes through Central Asia and West Asia to the ] and the ]. The South belt runs from China through Southeast Asia and South Asia and on to the Indian Ocean through Pakistan. The strategy will integrate China with Central Asia through Kazakhstan's ] infrastructure program.<ref name="EUreporterNZ">{{Cite news |title=Integrating #Kazakhstan Nurly Zhol, China's Silk Road economic belt will benefit all, officials say |agency=EUReporter |url=https://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2016/12/10/integrating-kazakhstan-nurly-zhol-chinas-silk-road-economic-belt-will-benefit-all-officials-say/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315090056/https://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2016/12/10/integrating-kazakhstan-nurly-zhol-chinas-silk-road-economic-belt-will-benefit-all-officials-say/ |archive-date=15 March 2017}}</ref> | ||
===21st Century Maritime Silk Road=== | ===21st Century Maritime Silk Road=== | ||
{{Main|21st Century Maritime Silk Road}} | {{Main|21st Century Maritime Silk Road}} | ||
The "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" (Chinese:21世纪海上丝绸之路), or just the Maritime Silk Road, is the sea route 'corridor.' |
The "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" (Chinese:21世纪海上丝绸之路), or just the Maritime Silk Road, is the sea route 'corridor.'<ref name="what" /> It is a complementary initiative aimed at investing and fostering collaboration in Southeast Asia, Oceania and Africa through several contiguous bodies of water: the ], the ], and the wider Indian Ocean area.<ref name="AutoLT-18">{{Cite web |title=Sri Lanka Supports China's Initiative of a 21st Century Maritime Silk Route |url=http://www.maritimesun.com/news/sri-lanka-supports-chinas-initiative-of-a-21st-century-maritime-silk-route |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511193307/http://www.maritimesun.com/news/sri-lanka-supports-chinas-initiative-of-a-21st-century-maritime-silk-route |archive-date=11 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="AutoLT-19">{{Cite web |last=Shannon Tiezzi, The Diplomat |title=China Pushes 'Maritime Silk Road' in South, Southeast Asia |url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/09/china-pushes-maritime-silk-road-in-south-southeast-asia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501173748/https://thediplomat.com/2014/09/china-pushes-maritime-silk-road-in-south-southeast-asia/ |archive-date=1 May 2015 |access-date=16 April 2015 |website=]}}</ref><ref name="ciis7231376">{{Cite web |title=Reflections on Maritime Partnership: Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road |url=http://www.ciis.org.cn/english/2014-09/15/content_7231376.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403001146/http://www.ciis.org.cn/english/2014-09/15/content_7231376.htm |archive-date=3 April 2015 |access-date=16 April 2015}}</ref> It was first proposed in October 2013 by Xi Jinping in a speech to the ].<ref name="chinadaily17008940">{{Cite web |title=Xi in call for building of new 'maritime silk road' |url=http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-10/04/content_17008940.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302055647/http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-10/04/content_17008940.htm |archive-date=2 March 2017 |access-date=16 April 2015 |website=]}}</ref> | ||
The maritime Silk Road runs with its links from the Chinese coast to the south via |
The maritime Silk Road runs with its links from the Chinese coast to the south via Hanoi to Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur through the ] via the Sri Lankan Colombo opposite the southern tip of India via Malé, the capital of the Maldives, to the East African Mombasa, from there to Djibouti, then through the Red Sea over the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, there via Haifa, Istanbul and Athens to the Upper Adriatic to the northern Italian junction of Trieste with its international free port and its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} | ||
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According to estimates in 2019, the land route of the Silk Road remains a niche project and the bulk of the Silk Road trade continues to be carried out by sea. The reasons are primarily due to the cost of container transport. The maritime Silk Road is also considered to be particularly attractive for trade because, in contrast to the land-based Silk Road leading through the sparsely populated Central Asia, there are on the one hand far more states on the way to Europe and, on the other hand, their markets, development opportunities, and population numbers are far larger. In particular, there are many land-based links such as the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Corridor (BCIM). Due to the attractiveness of this now subsidized sea route and the related investments, there have been major shifts in the logistics chains of the shipping sector in recent years.<ref>Bernhard Simon: Die natürlichen Grenzen der Neuen Seidenstraße. ''Manager Magazin'' 5/2019, 2 May 2019; Bernhard Zand: China erobert das Wasser ''Der Spiegel'', 9 September 2016; Global shipping and logistic chain reshaped as China's Belt and Road dreams take off in Hellenic Shipping News, 4 December 2018.</ref> Due to its unique geographical location, Myanmar is viewed to be playing a pivotal role |
According to estimates in 2019, the land route of the Silk Road remains a niche project and the bulk of the Silk Road trade continues to be carried out by sea. The reasons are primarily due to the cost of container transport. The maritime Silk Road is also considered to be particularly attractive for trade because, in contrast to the land-based Silk Road leading through the sparsely populated Central Asia, there are on the one hand, far more states on the way to Europe and, on the other hand, their markets, development opportunities, and population numbers are far larger. In particular, there are many land-based links, such as the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Corridor (BCIM). Due to the attractiveness of this now subsidized sea route and the related investments, there have been major shifts in the logistics chains of the shipping sector in recent years.<ref>Bernhard Simon: Die natürlichen Grenzen der Neuen Seidenstraße. ''Manager Magazin'' 5/2019, 2 May 2019; Bernhard Zand: China erobert das Wasser ''Der Spiegel'', 9 September 2016; Global shipping and logistic chain reshaped as China's Belt and Road dreams take off in Hellenic Shipping News, 4 December 2018.</ref> Due to its unique geographical location, Myanmar is viewed to be playing a pivotal role in China's BRI projects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mark |first1=Siusue |last2=Overland |first2=Indra |last3=Vakulchuk |first3=Roman |year=2020 |title=Sharing the Spoils: Winners and Losers in the Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar |journal=Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=381–404 |doi=10.1177/1868103420962116 |s2cid=227179618 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11250/2689628}}</ref> | ||
From the Chinese point of view, Africa is important as a market, raw material supplier and platform for the expansion of the new Silk Road{{snd}}the coasts of Africa should be included. In Kenya's port of |
From the Chinese point of view, Africa is important as a market, raw material supplier and platform for the expansion of the new Silk Road{{snd}}the coasts of Africa should be included. In Kenya's port of Mombasa, China has built a rail and road connection to the inland and to the capital ]. To the northeast of Mombasa, a large port with 32 berths including an adjacent industrial area including infrastructure with new traffic corridors to ] and ] is being built. A modern deep-water port, a satellite city, an airfield and an industrial area are being built in ], Tanzania. Further towards the Mediterranean, the ] is being built near the Egyptian coastal town of ] as a joint Chinese-Egyptian project.<ref>Johnny Erling: Chinas großer Sprung nach Afrika, ''Die Welt'', 3 September 2018; Andreas Eckert: Mit Mao nach Daressalam, ''Die Zeit'' 28 March 2019, p 17.</ref><ref>Harry G. Broadman "Afrika's Silk Road" (2007), pp 59.</ref> | ||
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As part of its Silk Road strategy, China is participating in large areas of Africa in the construction and operation of train routes, roads, airports and industry. In several countries such as ], |
As part of its Silk Road strategy, China is participating in large areas of Africa in the construction and operation of train routes, roads, airports and industry. In several countries, such as ], Ethiopia and ], dams have been built with Chinese help. In Nairobi, China is funding the construction of the tallest building in Africa, the Pinnacle Towers. With the Chinese investments of 60 billion dollars for Africa announced in September 2018, on the one hand, sales markets are created, and the local economy is promoted, and, on the other hand, African raw materials are made available for China.<ref>Andreas Eckert: "Mit Mao nach Daressalam" ''Die Zeit'', 28 March 2019, p. 17.</ref> | ||
One of the Chinese bridgeheads in Europe is the port of |
One of the Chinese bridgeheads in Europe is the port of Piraeus. Overall, Chinese companies are to invest a total of 350 million euros directly in the port facilities there by 2026 and a further 200 million euros in associated projects such as hotels.<ref>Zacharias Zacharakis: Chinas Anker in Europa ''Die Zeit'', 8 May 2018.</ref> In Europe, China wants to continue investing in ] with its deep-water port in ], but especially in Italy and there at the Adriatic logistics hub around Trieste. ], the historically important European endpoint of the maritime Silk Road, has less and less commercial importance today due to the shallow depth or silting of its port.<ref>Andrea Rossini: Venezia, si incaglia la via della Seta. Porto off limits per le navi cinesi in TGR Veneto (RAI), 16 January 2020.</ref> | ||
The international free zone of Trieste provides in particular special areas for storage, handling and processing as well as transit zones for goods.<ref>Chinesen wollen im Hafen Triest investieren. Warenverkehr der Seidenstraße läuft übers Meer ''Die Presse'' 16 May 2017</ref><ref>Thomas Fischer: Viele europäische Länder fürchten Chinas Einfluss. Portugal glaubt an die Seidenstrasse in Neue Zürcher Zeitung 6 December 2018</ref> At the same time, logistics and shipping companies invest in their technology and locations in order to benefit from ongoing developments.<ref>Cosco investiert wieder in große MPP-Flotte. ''Hansa International Maritime Journal'', 20 November 2018.</ref><ref>Wolf D. Hartmann, Wolfgang Maennig, Run Wang: Chinas neue Seidenstraße. Frankfurt am Main 2017, S. 59; Chinesen wollen verstärkt im Hafen Triest investieren, In: Kleine Zeitung 16 May 2017; Marco Kauffmann Bossart: Chinas Seidenstrasse-Initiative bringt Griechenland Investitionen und Jobs. Zu welchem Preis? In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung 12 July 2018.</ref> This also applies to the logistics connections between Turkey and the free ], which are important for the Silk Road, and from there by train to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. There is also direct cooperation, for example between |
The international free zone of Trieste provides in particular special areas for storage, handling and processing as well as transit zones for goods.<ref>Chinesen wollen im Hafen Triest investieren. Warenverkehr der Seidenstraße läuft übers Meer ''Die Presse'' 16 May 2017</ref><ref>Thomas Fischer: Viele europäische Länder fürchten Chinas Einfluss. Portugal glaubt an die Seidenstrasse in Neue Zürcher Zeitung 6 December 2018</ref> At the same time, logistics and shipping companies invest in their technology and locations in order to benefit from ongoing developments.<ref>Cosco investiert wieder in große MPP-Flotte. ''Hansa International Maritime Journal'', 20 November 2018.</ref><ref>Wolf D. Hartmann, Wolfgang Maennig, Run Wang: Chinas neue Seidenstraße. Frankfurt am Main 2017, S. 59; Chinesen wollen verstärkt im Hafen Triest investieren, In: Kleine Zeitung 16 May 2017; Marco Kauffmann Bossart: Chinas Seidenstrasse-Initiative bringt Griechenland Investitionen und Jobs. Zu welchem Preis? In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung 12 July 2018.</ref> This also applies to the logistics connections between Turkey and the free ], which are important for the Silk Road, and from there by train to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. There is also direct cooperation, for example between Trieste, ], and the Chinese province of ]. While direct train connections from China to Europe, such as from Chengdu to Vienna overland, are partially stagnating or discontinued, there are (as of 2019) new weekly rail connections between ] or ] and Trieste or between Trieste, ] and ] on the maritime Silk Road.<ref>P&O Ferrymasters Launches New Intermodal Services Linking Turkey To Rotterdam And Zeebrugge Hubs Via Trieste. in Hellenic Shipping News 8 January 2019; Hafen Triest stärkt Intermodal-Verbindungen nach Luxemburg in Verkehrsrundschau: 12 June 2019.</ref><ref>"Hafen Triest nun mit Bahnverbindung nach Nürnberg" ''Industrie Magazin'', 9 November 2020.</ref> | ||
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There are also extensive intra-European infrastructure projects to adapt trade flows to current needs. Concrete projects (as well as their financing), which are to ensure the connection of the Mediterranean ports with the European hinterland, are decided among others at the annual China-Central-East-Europe summit, which was launched in 2012. This applies, for example, to the expansion of the Belgrade-Budapest railway line, the construction of the high-speed train between Milan, Venice and Trieste<ref> |
There are also extensive intra-European infrastructure projects to adapt trade flows to current needs. Concrete projects (as well as their financing), which are to ensure the connection of the Mediterranean ports with the European hinterland, are decided among others at the annual China-Central-East-Europe summit, which was launched in 2012. This applies, for example, to the expansion of the Belgrade-Budapest railway line, the construction of the high-speed train between Milan, Venice and Trieste<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stol.it/artikel/wirtschaft/italien-will-in-schnellere-bahnverbindung-triest-venedig-investieren|title=Italien will in schnellere Bahnverbindung Triest-Venedig investieren|website=stol.it|access-date=10 February 2021|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209173547/https://www.stol.it/artikel/wirtschaft/italien-will-in-schnellere-bahnverbindung-triest-venedig-investieren|url-status=live |last1=It |first1=Stol }}</ref> and connections on the Adriatic-Baltic and Adriatic-North Sea axis. Poland, the Baltic States, Northern Europe and Central Europe are also connected to the maritime Silk Road through many links and are thus logistically networked via the Adriatic ports and Piraeus to East Africa, India and China. Overall the pan is that the ship connections for container transport between Asia and Europe will be reorganized.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} In contrast to the longer East Asia traffic via northwest Europe, the south-facing sea route through the Suez Canal towards the Trieste bridgehead shortens the transport of goods by at least four days.<ref>Gerald Pohl: Neue Seidenstraße: China drängt es nach Europa ''Die Presse'', 17 September 2019; Hafen Triest auf Wachstumskurs: Neue Bahnverbindung nach Rostock. ''Der Trend'', 17 October 2018; Frank Behling: Hafenzug Kiel–Triest. Von der Förde ans Mittelmeer. In: Kieler Nachrichten: 25 January 2017.</ref> | ||
According to a study by the University of Antwerp, the maritime route via Trieste dramatically reduces transport costs. The example of ] shows that the transport there from Shanghai via Trieste takes 33 days, while the northern route takes 43 days. From Hong Kong, the southern route reduces transport to Munich from 37 to 28 days. The shorter |
According to a study by the ], the maritime route via Trieste dramatically reduces transport costs. The example of ] shows that the transport there from Shanghai via Trieste takes 33 days, while the northern route takes 43 days. From Hong Kong, the southern route reduces transport to Munich from 37 to 28 days. The shorter route leads to better use of the ships and lower CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. Therefore, in the Mediterranean area, where the economic zone of the ] meets functioning railroad connections and deep-water ports, there are significant growth zones. Henning Vöpel, Director of the Hamburg World Economic Institute, says that the North Range (i.e. transport via the North Sea ports to Europe) will not necessarily remain dominant in the medium term.<ref>Triest – Ein Welthafen für Bayern, In: Bayrische Staatszeitung 30 November 2018; Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018), p 112; Bruno Macaes: China's Italian advance threatens EU unity. Im Nikkei Asian Review 25 March 2019; Werner Balsen: Der neue Blick nach Europa – von Süden in DVZ, 10 July 2019; Alexandra Endres: Schifffahrt ist fürs Klima genau so schlimm wie Kohle, In: Die Zeit, 9 December 2019; Harry de Wilt: Is One Belt, One Road a China crisis for North Sea main ports? In: World Cargo News, 17 December 2019.</ref> | ||
From 2025, the ] will also link the upper Adriatic with southern Germany. The port of Trieste, next to Gioia Tauro the only deep water port in the central Mediterranean for container ships of the seventh generation, is therefore a special target for Chinese investments. In March 2019, the ] (CCCC) signed agreements to promote the ports of Trieste and Genoa. Accordingly, the port's annual handling capacity will be increased from 10,000 to 25,000 trains in Trieste (Trihub project) and a reciprocal platform to promote and handle trade between Europe and China will be created. It is also about logistics promotion between the North Adriatic port and Shanghai or ]. This also includes a state Hungarian investment of 100 million euros for a 32 hectare logistics center and funding from the ] of 45 million euros in 2020 for the development of the railway system in the port city.<ref>"Trieste, ex Aquila venduta all'ungherese Adria Port" ''Il Piccolo'', 18 December 2020.</ref> Furthermore, the Hamburg port logistics group ] invested in the logistics platform of the port of Trieste (PLT) in September 2020.<ref>Matteo Bressan: Opportunities and challenges for BRI in Europe in Global Time, 2 April 2019; Andreas Deutsch: Verlagerungseffekte im containerbasierten Hinterlandverkehr (2014), p 143; Johnny Erling: Peking streckt die Hand nach italienischen Häfen aus ''Die Welt'', 21 March 2019; Alexander Zwagerman: The eternal city welcomes the eternal Red Emperor: Italy's embrace of Beijing is a headache for its partners, ''Hong Kong Free Press'', 31 March 2019; Guido Santevecchi: Di Maio e la Via della Seta: «Faremo i conti nel 2020», siglato accordo su Trieste in Corriere della Sera: 5 November 2019; Trieste to become Hungary's sea exit, The Budapest Business Journal, 21 June 2019; "Hamburger Hafenkonzern investiert groß in Triest" in Die Presse 29 September 2020; Linda Vierecke, Elisabetta Galla "Triest und die neue Seidenstraße" Deutsche Welle, 8 December 2020.</ref> In 2020, Duisburger Hafen AG (Duisport), the world's largest intermodal terminal operator, took a 15% stake in the Trieste freight terminal.<ref>"Logistica, il colosso Duisport acquisisce il 15% delle quote dell'Interporto di Trieste" ''Il Piccolo'', 15 December 2020.</ref> There are also further contacts between Hamburg, Bremen and Trieste with regard to cooperation.<ref> |
From 2025, the ] will also link the upper Adriatic with southern Germany. The port of Trieste, next to Gioia Tauro the only deep water port in the central Mediterranean for container ships of the seventh generation, is therefore a special target for Chinese investments. In March 2019, the ] (CCCC) signed agreements to promote the ports of Trieste and Genoa. Accordingly, the port's annual handling capacity will be increased from 10,000 to 25,000 trains in Trieste (Trihub project) and a reciprocal platform to promote and handle trade between Europe and China will be created. It is also about logistics promotion between the North Adriatic port and Shanghai or ]. This also includes a state Hungarian investment of 100 million euros for a 32 hectare logistics center and funding from the ] of 45 million euros in 2020 for the development of the railway system in the port city.<ref>"Trieste, ex Aquila venduta all'ungherese Adria Port" ''Il Piccolo'', 18 December 2020.</ref> Furthermore, the Hamburg port logistics group ] invested in the logistics platform of the port of Trieste (PLT) in September 2020.<ref>Matteo Bressan: Opportunities and challenges for BRI in Europe in Global Time, 2 April 2019; Andreas Deutsch: Verlagerungseffekte im containerbasierten Hinterlandverkehr (2014), p 143; Johnny Erling: Peking streckt die Hand nach italienischen Häfen aus ''Die Welt'', 21 March 2019; Alexander Zwagerman: The eternal city welcomes the eternal Red Emperor: Italy's embrace of Beijing is a headache for its partners, ''Hong Kong Free Press'', 31 March 2019; Guido Santevecchi: Di Maio e la Via della Seta: «Faremo i conti nel 2020», siglato accordo su Trieste in Corriere della Sera: 5 November 2019; Trieste to become Hungary's sea exit, The Budapest Business Journal, 21 June 2019; "Hamburger Hafenkonzern investiert groß in Triest" in Die Presse 29 September 2020; Linda Vierecke, Elisabetta Galla "Triest und die neue Seidenstraße" Deutsche Welle, 8 December 2020.</ref> In 2020, Duisburger Hafen AG (Duisport), the world's largest intermodal terminal operator, took a 15% stake in the Trieste freight terminal.<ref>"Logistica, il colosso Duisport acquisisce il 15% delle quote dell'Interporto di Trieste" ''Il Piccolo'', 15 December 2020.</ref> There are also further contacts between Hamburg, Bremen and Trieste with regard to cooperation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nordesteconomia.gelocal.it/infrastrutture/2021/01/31/news/verso-il-colosso-ue-dei-container-amburgo-brema-un-faro-su-trieste-1.39843003|title=Verso il colosso Ue dei container Amburgo-Brema. Un faro su Trieste|date=31 January 2021|website=Nord Est Economia|access-date=9 February 2021|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227155335/https://nordesteconomia.gelocal.it/infrastrutture/2021/01/31/news/verso-il-colosso-ue-dei-container-amburgo-brema-un-faro-su-trieste-1.39843003|url-status=live}}</ref> There are also numerous collaborations in the Upper Adriatic, for example with the logistics platform in Cervignano.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.triesteallnews.it/2021/05/linterporto-cervignano-e-ora-la-banchina-estesa-del-porto-di-trieste/|title=L'Interporto Cervignano è ora la banchina estesa del Porto di Trieste - TRIESTE.news|first=Italo|last=Veneziani|date=24 May 2021|access-date=22 June 2023|archive-date=22 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622010051/https://www.triesteallnews.it/2021/05/linterporto-cervignano-e-ora-la-banchina-estesa-del-porto-di-trieste/|url-status=live}}</ref> In particular, the area of the upper Adriatic is developing into an extended intersection of the economic areas known as the ] and the ]. The importance of the free port of Trieste is expected to continue to increase in the coming years{{Vague|date=December 2024}} due to the planned port expansion and the expansion of the Baltic-Adriatic railway axis (], ] and in the wider area Brenner Base Tunnel).<ref>"RCG verstärkt Verbindung nach Triest" In: Dispo, 3 February 2021; "Zusätzliche Bahnverbindungen zwischen Triest und Nürnberg" In: Verkehrsrundschau 19 April 2021.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://industriemagazin.at/artikel/hafen-triest-nun-mit-bahnverbindung-nach-nuernberg/|title=Hafen Triest nun mit Bahnverbindung nach Nürnberg|journal=]|language=de|access-date=22 June 2023|archive-date=22 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622004548/https://industriemagazin.at/artikel/hafen-triest-nun-mit-bahnverbindung-nach-nuernberg/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merkur.de/politik/neue-seidenstrasse-china-beteiligte-laender-verlauf-deutschland-kritik-90466338.html|title=Neue Seidenstraße: Das Mega-Projekt aus China|date=14 June 2021|website=www.merkur.de|access-date=22 June 2023|archive-date=29 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629064839/https://www.merkur.de/politik/neue-seidenstrasse-china-beteiligte-laender-verlauf-deutschland-kritik-90466338.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
===Ice Silk Road=== | ===Ice Silk Road=== | ||
In addition to the Maritime Silk Road, Russia and China are reported to have agreed to jointly build an 'Ice Silk Road' along the ] in the Arctic, along a maritime route within Russian territorial waters.<ref name="archive_201808182334"/><ref name="Henderson"/> | In addition to the Maritime Silk Road, Russia and China are reported to have agreed to jointly build an 'Ice Silk Road' along the ] in the Arctic, along a maritime route within Russian territorial waters.<ref name="archive_201808182334">Suokas, J., {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818233421/https://gbtimes.com/china-russia-build-ice-silk-road-along-northern-sea-route |date=18 August 2018}}, GB Times, published 6 July 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2019</ref><ref name="Henderson">{{Cite web |last=Henderson |first=Isaiah M. |date=18 July 2019 |title=Cold Ambition: The New Geopolitical Faultline |url=https://calrev.org/2019/07/18/cold-ambition-the-new-geopolitical-faultline/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208023028/https://calrev.org/2019/07/18/cold-ambition-the-new-geopolitical-faultline/?v=7516fd43adaa |archive-date=8 February 2021 |access-date=19 July 2019 |website=The California Review}}</ref> | ||
China ] Shipping Corp. has completed several trial trips on ], and Chinese and Russian companies are cooperating on ] in the area and to advance comprehensive collaboration on infrastructure construction, tourism and scientific expeditions.<ref name="Henderson"/> | China ] Shipping Corp. has completed several trial trips on ], and Chinese and Russian companies are cooperating on ] in the area and to advance comprehensive collaboration on infrastructure construction, tourism and scientific expeditions.<ref name="Henderson" /> | ||
===Digital Silk Road=== | |||
Russia together with China approached the practical discussion of the global infrastructure project Ice Silk Road. This was stated by representatives of ] at the International conference Development of the shelf of Russia<ref name="myseldon_206630988"/> and the CIS — 2019 (Petroleum Offshore of Russia), held in Moscow.{{clarify|date=July 2020}}{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2020}} | |||
In 2015, Xi announced the Digital Silk Road.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=71}} The Digital Silk Road is a component of the BRI which includes digital technological development, the development of digital standards, and the expansion of digital infrastructure.<ref name="Parzyan 2023">{{Cite book |last=Parzyan |first=Anahit |title=China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace |date=2023 |publisher=] |others=Mher Sahakyan |isbn=978-1-003-35258-7 |location=New York |chapter=China's Digital Silk Road: Empowering Capabilities for Digital Leadership in Eurasia |doi=10.4324/9781003352587-18 |oclc=1353290533}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=177–188}}Its stated aim is to improve digital connectivity among participating countries, with China as the main driver of the improved digital infrastructure, with the benefit to China of reducing its reliance on American digital technology.<ref name="Sciacovelli 2023">{{Cite book |last=Larissa Sciacovelli |first=Annita |title=China and Eurasian powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace |date=2023 |publisher=] |others=Mher Sahakyan |isbn=978-1-003-35258-7 |location=New York |chapter=Cybersecurity Challenges between the EU and China |doi=10.4324/9781003352587-20 |oclc=1353290533}}</ref>{{Rp|page=205}} It has also been called a way to export China's system of ] and ], according to rights group ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yang |first=Lin |date=2024-05-28 |title=China's Digital Silk Road exports internet technology, controls |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/china-s-digital-silk-road-exports-internet-technology-controls/7626266.html |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528195557/https://www.voanews.com/a/china-s-digital-silk-road-exports-internet-technology-controls/7626266.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Arthur |date=2024-05-15 |title=Chinese Surveillance Technology Expands at Home and Abroad |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2024/05/chinese-surveillance-technology-expands-at-home-and-abroad/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=] |language=en-US |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528220554/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2024/05/chinese-surveillance-technology-expands-at-home-and-abroad/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Like the BRI more broadly, the Digital Silk Road is not monolithic and involves many actors across both China's public and private sectors.<ref name="Sciacovelli 2023" />{{Rp|page=205}} ] supplies a significant amount of technology for the Digital Silk Road.<ref name=":Zhang">{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Angela Huyue |title=High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy |publisher=] |year=2024 |isbn=9780197682258 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197682258.001.0001}}</ref>{{Rp|page=272}} | |||
The delegates of the conference were representatives of the leadership of Russian and corporations (], ], ], Rosgeologiya, ], Morneftegazproekt, Murmanshelf, Russian Helicopters, etc.), as well as foreign auditors (], member of the world Big Four) and consulting centers (Norwegian ] and others.).<ref name="medium_20190522"/>{{unreliable source?|reason=]|date=July 2020}} | |||
China frames the Digital Silk Road as part of an effort to create a ] in cyberspace.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=72}} A key component of the strategy is to build digital infrastructure in areas of the global south where private providers have not been willing to develop infrastructure and where local governments do not have the capacity to do so.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=76}} China's willingness to develop digital infrastructure in such locations is in part due to the expectation that future population growth will be especially high in global south regions.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=76–77}} | |||
As part of the Digital Silk Road, China built 34 terrestrial cables and dozens of underwater cables within 12 BRI countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe over the period 2017–2022.<ref name="Parzyan 2023" />{{Rp|page=180}} Digital Silk Road-related investments in projects outside China reached an estimated US$79 billion as of 2018.<ref name="Sciacovelli 2023" />{{Rp|page=205}} | |||
At the opening ceremony of the first Belt and Road Forum, Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of developing a Digital Silk Road through innovation in intelligent cities concepts, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and quantum computing.<ref name="Parzyan 2023" />{{Rp|page=77}} | |||
The ] cooperates with China on the development of the Digital Silk Road.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parzyan |first=Anahit |title=China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace |date=2023 |publisher=] |others=Mher Sahakyan |isbn=978-1-003-35258-7 |location=New York |doi=10.4324/9781003352587 |oclc=1353290533 |url=https://hal.science/hal-04020081/file/9781003352587_previewpdf.pdf |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-date=7 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507005252/https://hal.science/hal-04020081/file/9781003352587_previewpdf.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|page=187}} Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus are actively involved in the Digital Silk Road while Russia incorporated Chinese technologies into its digital infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sahakyan |first=Mher D. |date=2024-12-09 |title=China's Digital Silk Road and the Eurasian Economic Union's Member States: Cooperation, Challenges, and Opportunities |journal=] |language=en |pages=1–20 |doi=10.1080/03068374.2024.2421501 |issn=0306-8374}}</ref> | |||
In February 2024, leaked documents from a Chinese government contractor based in Shanghai called I-Soon provided details into a hacking campaign involving the critical infrastructure of Digital Silk Road partner countries.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chang |first1=Che |last2=Huang |first2=Lian |last3=Tong |first3=Athena |date=December 20, 2024 |title=State Goals, Private Tools: Digital Sovereignty and Surveillance Along the Belt and Road |url=https://jamestown.org/program/state-goals-private-tools-digital-sovereignty-and-surveillance-along-the-belt-and-road/ |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=] |language=en-US |archive-date=21 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241221224027/https://jamestown.org/program/state-goals-private-tools-digital-sovereignty-and-surveillance-along-the-belt-and-road/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Super grid=== | ===Super grid=== | ||
The ] project aims to develop six ] ]s across China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia. The ] resources of Central Asia would form one component of this grid.<ref name="AutoLT-20"/><ref name="ieee_20190221"/> | The ] project aims to develop six ] ]s across China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia. The ] resources of Central Asia would form one component of this grid.<ref name="AutoLT-20">{{Cite news |date=5 December 2017 |title=China plans super-grid for clean power in Asia |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e808a542-d6c6-11e7-8c9a-d9c0a5c8d5c9 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202070611/https://www.ft.com/content/e808a542-d6c6-11e7-8c9a-d9c0a5c8d5c9 |archive-date=2 December 2018 |access-date=1 December 2018 |work=]}}</ref><ref name="ieee_20190221">{{Cite web |last=Fairley |first=Peter |date=21 February 2019 |title=China's Ambitious Plan to Build the World's Biggest Supergrid |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/chinas-ambitious-plan-to-build-the-worlds-biggest-supergrid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512092508/https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-smarter-grid/chinas-ambitious-plan-to-build-the-worlds-biggest-supergrid |archive-date=12 May 2019 |access-date=11 May 2019 |website=IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News}}</ref> Because renewable resources are far from the centres of population, a long-distance transmission system is needed, which needs to be ultra-high voltage to operate efficiently. | ||
===Additionally proposed=== | ===Additionally proposed=== | ||
] was proposed to run from southern China to Myanmar and was initially officially classified as "closely related to the Belt and Road Initiative".<ref name="vision" /> Since the second ] in 2019, BCIM has been dropped from the list of projects due to India's refusal to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.<ref name="AutoLT-21"/> | ] was proposed to run from southern China to Myanmar and was initially officially classified as "closely related to the Belt and Road Initiative".<ref name="vision">{{Cite news |date=29 March 2015 |title=Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Belt and Road |url=http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/03/29/2941s872030_1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085441/http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/03/29/2941s872030_1.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=28 April 2015 |agency=]}}</ref> Since the second ] in 2019, BCIM has been dropped from the list of projects due to India's refusal to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.<ref name="AutoLT-21">{{Cite news |date=28 April 2019 |title=China drops BCIM from BRI projects' list |work=Business Standard |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/china-drops-bcim-from-bri-projects-list-119042800540_1.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028200349/https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/china-drops-bcim-from-bri-projects-list-119042800540_1.html |archive-date=28 October 2019}}</ref> | ||
== Projects == | == Projects == | ||
{{Main list|List of projects of the Belt and Road Initiative}} | {{Main list|List of projects of the Belt and Road Initiative}} | ||
] in orange.<ref name="AutoLT-17"/>]] | ] in orange.<ref name="AutoLT-17">Based on {{lang|zh-Hant|《一帶一路規劃藍圖》}} in ''Nanfang Daily''</ref>]] | ||
] | |||
China has engaged |
China has engaged 149<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://greenfdc.org/countries-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-bri/|title=Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – Green Finance & Development Center|first=Christoph NEDOPIL|last=WANG|access-date=26 April 2022|archive-date=18 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518091931/https://greenfdc.org/countries-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-bri/|url-status=live}}</ref> countries and 30 international organizations in the BRI.<ref name="yidaiyilu_20190412">{{Cite web |date=12 April 2019 |script-title=zh:已同中國簽訂共建一帶一路合作文件的國家一覽 |url=https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/info/iList.jsp?tm_id=126&cat_id=10122&info_id=77298 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20190208025452/https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/info/iList.jsp?tm_id=126&cat_id=10122&info_id=77298 |archive-date=8 February 2019 |access-date=24 April 2019 |website=BRI Official Website}}</ref> Infrastructure projects include ports, railways, highways, power stations, aviation and telecommunications.<ref name="AutoLT-22">{{Cite web |title=B&R interconnection witnesses great breakthroughs in 5-year development-Belt and Road Portal |url=https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/rdxw/69500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119174859/https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/rdxw/69500.htm |archive-date=19 January 2019 |access-date=19 January 2019 |website=eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn}}</ref> The flagship projects include the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, the ] in Laos and Khorgos land port.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Understanding China's BRI in Laos |url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean-business/understanding-chinas-bri-in-laos |access-date=3 June 2021 |website=www.businesstimes.com.sg |date=13 January 2020 |archive-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412105659/https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean-business/understanding-chinas-bri-in-laos |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 January 2019 |title=Can China Turn the Middle of Nowhere Into the Center of the World Economy? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/29/magazine/china-globalization-kazakhstan.html,%20https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/29/magazine/china-globalization-kazakhstan.html |access-date=3 June 2021 |work=] |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 May 2020 |title=The BRI in Pakistan: China's flagship economic corridor {{!}} Merics |url=https://merics.org/en/analysis/bri-pakistan-chinas-flagship-economic-corridor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505123128/https://merics.org/en/analysis/bri-pakistan-chinas-flagship-economic-corridor |archive-date=5 May 2022 |access-date=3 June 2021 |website=]}}</ref> The launch of the China-Europe Freight Train (CEFT) preceded the BRI but was later incorporated into the BRI.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=120}} | ||
Interpretations of which projects are part of the BRI can differ because the Chinese government does not publish a comprehensive list of projects.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=60–61}} The ] takes a narrow definition, including only projects derived from, or included in, cooperation dialogues between China and other BRI countries.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=223}} | |||
=== Corruption scandals === | |||
There is limited data on corruption involving the BRI in Chinese government sources.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tan |first=Veltrice |date=2023-04-18 |title=Belt and Road Initiative: the interplay between corruption, plea-bargaining and civil alternative dispute resolution |journal=Journal of Financial Crime |language=en |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=603–617 |doi=10.1108/JFC-02-2023-0029 |issn=1359-0790}}</ref> In response to public corruption scandals such as the bribery and money laundering conviction of BRI advocate ], in 2019, the CCP's ] announced that it would embed officers in countries participating in the BRI.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weinland |first=Don |date=July 18, 2019 |title=China to embed anti-corruption officers in BRI projects |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a5815e66-a91b-11e9-984c-fac8325aaa04 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190719001102/https://www.ft.com/content/a5815e66-a91b-11e9-984c-fac8325aaa04 |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=]}}</ref> A 2021 analysis by ] at the ] found that Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Mozambique, and Belarus, were the top countries for reported corruption scandals involving BRI projects.<ref name=":3" /> | |||
=== Ecological issues === | |||
Approximately 54% of the BRI's energy projects are in clean energy or alternative energy sectors.<ref name=":Jiang" />{{Rp|page=216}} | |||
The Belt and Road initiative has attracted attention and concern from environmental organizations. A joint report by the ] and ] argued that the BRI presents significant risks as well as opportunities for sustainable development. These risks include the overuse of natural resources, the disruption of ecosystems, and the emission of pollutants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sustainablefinance.hsbc.com/-/media/gbm/reports/sustainable-financing/greening-the-belt-and-road-initiative.pdf|title=Greening the Belt and Road Initiative|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019005132/https://www.sustainablefinance.hsbc.com/-/media/gbm/reports/sustainable-financing/greening-the-belt-and-road-initiative.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> ]s, such as ] in Turkey, are being built as part of BRI, thus increasing ] and ].<ref name="AutoLT-25">{{Cite web |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative Could Drive Warming to 2.7 Degrees |url=https://e360.yale.edu/digest/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-could-drive-warming-to-2-7-degrees |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925175240/https://e360.yale.edu/digest/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-could-drive-warming-to-2-7-degrees |archive-date=25 September 2019 |access-date=25 September 2019 |website=Yale E360}}</ref> ] as a result of excess greenhouse gas emissions, ] preservation, ] and ] as a result of ] and over farming, mining practices, ], and air and water pollution as a result of poorly planned infrastructure projects are some of the ongoing concerns as they relate to Central Asian nations.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://zoinet.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/BRI-Layout-WEB.pdf |title=Greening the Belt and Road Projects in Central Asia: A Visual Synthesis |publisher=Zoi Environment Network |year=2019 |editor-last=Hughes |editor-first=Geoff |location=Switzerland |access-date=9 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208023029/https://zoinet.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/BRI-Layout-WEB.pdf |archive-date=8 February 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
A point of criticism of the BRI overall relates to the motivation of pollution and ] outsourcing to poorer nations, whose governments will disregard the consequences. In Serbia, for instance, where pollution-related deaths already top Europe, the presence of Chinese-owned coal-powered plants have resulted in an augmentation in the country's dependency on coal, as well as air and ] in some towns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vuksanovic |first=Vuk |date=16 July 2021 |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative Is Causing Environmental Damage in Serbia |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/16/serbia-china-bri-coal-copper-dirty-energy-dumping-ground/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717194112/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/16/serbia-china-bri-coal-copper-dirty-energy-dumping-ground/ |archive-date=17 July 2021 |access-date=17 July 2021 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref> BRI coal projects accounted for as much as 42% of China's overseas investment in 2018,<ref name="kuo">{{Cite news |last=Kuo |first=Lily |date=25 April 2019 |title=Belt and Road forum: China's 'project of the century' hits tough times |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/25/belt-and-road-forum-chinas-project-of-the-century-hits-tough-times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514023148/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/25/belt-and-road-forum-chinas-project-of-the-century-hits-tough-times |archive-date=14 May 2024 |access-date=22 February 2021 |work=] |location=Beijing |issn=1756-3224 |oclc=60623878}}</ref> and 93% of energy investments of the BRI-linked Silk Road Fund go to fossil fuels.<ref>{{Cite report |last1=Zhou |first1=L. |last2=Gilbert |first2=S. |last3=Wang |first3=Y. |last4=Muñoz Cabre |first4=M. |last5=Gallagher |first5=K.P. |date=October 2018 |title=Moving the Green Belt and Road Initiative: From Words to Actions |url=https://www.wri.org/research/moving-green-belt-and-road-initiative-words-actions |url-status=live |journal= |location=Washington, DC |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517165546/https://www.wri.org/research/moving-green-belt-and-road-initiative-words-actions |archive-date=17 May 2022 |access-date=3 June 2021}}</ref> | |||
The development of port infrastructure and increasing shipping associated with the maritime Belt and Road Initiative could impact sensitive species and marine habitats like ]s, ]s, ]s and ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Turschwell |first1=Mischa P. |last2=Brown |first2=Christopher J. |last3=Pearson |first3=Ryan M. |last4=Connolly |first4=Rod M. |date=1 February 2020 |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative: Conservation opportunities for threatened marine species and habitats |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308597X19307675 |url-status=live |journal=] |volume=112 |pages=103791 |bibcode=2020MarPo.11203791T |doi=10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103791 |issn=0308-597X |s2cid=212771175 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503124904/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308597X19307675 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref> | |||
A report by the ] and the ] frame the BRI as an opportunity for environmental protection so long as it is used to provide green trade, ], and investment in alignment with each country's implementation of the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A New Means to Transformative Global Governance Towards Sustainable Development |url=https://www.cn.undp.org/content/china/en/home/library/south-south-cooperation/a-new-means-to-transformative-global-governance-towards-sustaina.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505215832/https://www.cn.undp.org/content/china/en/home/library/south-south-cooperation/a-new-means-to-transformative-global-governance-towards-sustaina.html |archive-date=5 May 2022 |access-date=19 October 2021 |website=]}}</ref> Other proposals include providing financial support for BRI member countries aiming to fulfill their contribution to the ], or providing resources and policy expertise to aid the expansion of ] sources such as ] in member countries.<ref name="Coenen 2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Coenen |first1=Johanna |last2=Bager |first2=Simon |last3=Meyfroidt |first3=Patrick |last4=Newig |first4=Jens |last5=Challies |first5=Edward |date=2021 |title=Environmental Governance of China's Belt and Road Initiative |journal=Environmental Policy and Governance |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=3–17 |doi=10.1002/eet.1901 |issn=1756-9338 |s2cid=225610730 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Shi |last2=Lu |first2=Xi |last3=Miao |first3=Yufei |last4=Deng |first4=Yu |last5=Nielsen |first5=Chris P. |last6=Elbot |first6=Noah |last7=Wang |first7=Yuanchen |last8=Logan |first8=Kathryn G. |last9=McElroy |first9=Michael B. |last10=Hao |first10=Jiming |date=21 August 2019 |title=The Potential of Photovoltaics to Power the Belt and Road Initiative |journal=] |volume=3 |issue=8 |pages=1895–1912 |bibcode=2019Joule...3.1895C |doi=10.1016/j.joule.2019.06.006 |issn=2542-4351 |s2cid=197671970 |doi-access=free}}</ref> | |||
China views the concept of ] as part of the BRI.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=85}} | |||
The Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) was launched during the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in April 2019.<ref name="Shinn 2023" />{{Rp|page=60}} It aims to "integrate sustainable development, in particular ], international standards and best practices, across the... priorities of the Belt and Road Initiative".<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 October 2018 |title=The Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition |url=https://www.unenvironment.org/regions/asia-and-pacific/regional-initiatives/belt-and-road-initiative-international-green |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125134639/https://www.unenvironment.org/regions/asia-and-pacific/regional-initiatives/belt-and-road-initiative-international-green |archive-date=25 November 2020 |access-date=24 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Treyer |first=Sébastien |date=23 September 2019 |title=Greening the Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://www.iddri.org/en/publications-and-events/blog-post/greening-belt-and-road-initiative-recent-advances-assessing-scale |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220143457/https://www.iddri.org/en/publications-and-events/blog-post/greening-belt-and-road-initiative-recent-advances-assessing-scale |archive-date=20 December 2020 |access-date=24 September 2020 |publisher=IDDR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Shepherd |first=Christian |date=5 June 2020 |title=China's Belt and Road urged to take green route |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e00426f4-8ead-11ea-af59-5283fc4c0cb0 |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217100008/https://www.ft.com/content/e00426f4-8ead-11ea-af59-5283fc4c0cb0 |archive-date=17 December 2020 |issn=0307-1766}}</ref> However, many scholars are unsure whether these best practices will be implemented. All BRI-specific environmental protection goals are outlined in informal guidelines rather than legally binding policies or regulations.<ref name="Coenen 2021" /><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Greening or Greenwashing the Belt and Road Initiative? |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/greening-or-greenwashing-belt-and-road-initiative |access-date=19 October 2021 |website=www.csis.org |date=May 2019 |last1=Nakano |first1=Jane |archive-date=18 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018192709/https://www.csis.org/analysis/greening-or-greenwashing-belt-and-road-initiative |url-status=live }}</ref> Moreover, member nations may choose to prioritize economic development over environmental protections, leading them to neglect to enforce environmental policy or lower environmental policy standards.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gamso |first=Jonas |date=2018 |title=Environmental policy impacts of trade with China and the moderating effect of governance |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eet.1807 |journal=Environmental Policy and Governance |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=395–405 |doi=10.1002/eet.1807 |issn=1756-9338 |s2cid=158113385 |access-date=19 October 2021 |archive-date=27 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027183328/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eet.1807 |url-status=live }}</ref> This could cause member nations to become "]" as Chinese ] are strengthened, though evidence of this currently happening is limited.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tracy |first1=Elena F. |last2=Shvarts |first2=Evgeny |last3=Simonov |first3=Eugene |last4=Babenko |first4=Mikhail |date=2 January 2017 |title=China's new Eurasian ambitions: the environmental risks of the Silk Road Economic Belt |journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=56–88 |doi=10.1080/15387216.2017.1295876 |issn=1538-7216 |s2cid=157808832 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tian |first1=Xu |last2=Hu |first2=Yunyi |last3=Yin |first3=Haitao |last4=Geng |first4=Yong |last5=Bleischwitz |first5=Raimund |date=1 November 2019 |title=Trade impacts of China's Belt and Road Initiative: From resource and environmental perspectives |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344919303258 |journal=Resources, Conservation and Recycling |volume=150 |pages=104430 |doi=10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104430 |bibcode=2019RCR...15004430T |issn=0921-3449 |s2cid=202098591 |access-date=19 October 2021 |archive-date=14 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514023150/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344919303258 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Based on the most recent report from the Green Finance and Development center, which reports on the environmental progress of Belt and Road Initiative investment, there is evidence which shows that China has been successful in following the informal guidelines laid out by the BRIGC.<ref name="Wang, Christoph Nedopil 2023">Wang, Christoph Nedopil. “China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Investment Report 2023.” Green Finance & Development Center, March 19, 2024.</ref> Many of the southeast Asia and eastern Europe countries that China seeks to work with through the BRI prioritize sustainable development.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=87}} China has responded by emphasizing a "Green Silk Road" and promoting harmony between humanity and the environment.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=87}} Chinese BRI investment in 2023 show that the year has been China's “greenest” yet since the project's inception when it comes to clean energy investment.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Wang, Christoph Nedopil |title=China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Investment Report 2023 |work=Green Finance & Development Center |date=March 19, 2024 |url=https://greenfdc.org/china-belt-and-road-initiative-bri-investment-report-2023/ |access-date=1 May 2024 |archive-date=1 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501180948/https://greenfdc.org/china-belt-and-road-initiative-bri-investment-report-2023/#:~:text=China%27s%20energy%20related%20engagement%20in%202023%20was%20the%20greenest%20since,6%20billion |url-status=dead }}</ref> China made its largest ever contribution to investment in the green-energy sector, with US$7.9 billion being devoted to solar and wind power development, with projects being built in Brazil and Indonesia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Goldwind will install a factory of wind turbines for wind power in Brazil |url=https://www.evwind.es/2023/03/24/goldwind-will-install-a-factory-of-wind-turbines-for-wind-power-in-brazil/90891 |access-date=May 1, 2024 |date=March 24, 2023 |archive-date=1 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501180943/https://www.evwind.es/2023/03/24/goldwind-will-install-a-factory-of-wind-turbines-for-wind-power-in-brazil/90891 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Wang, Christoph Nedopil 2023"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Arkyasa |first1=Mahinda |title=PLN partners with State Grid Corporation of China and Trina Solar to boost clean energy and develop smart grid |url=https://indonesiabusinesspost.com/risks-opportunities/pln-partners-with-state-grid-corporation-of-china-and-trina-solar-to-boost-clean-energy-and-develop-smart-grid/ |access-date=1 May 2024 |agency=Business Whisper & Intelligence |publisher=Indonesia Business Post. |date=October 18, 2023 |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219193528/https://indonesiabusinesspost.com/risks-opportunities/pln-partners-with-state-grid-corporation-of-china-and-trina-solar-to-boost-clean-energy-and-develop-smart-grid/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A further US$1.9 billion was invested in ] industry, including BRI hydroelectric dam projects in Cambodia, Pakistan, Uganda, Tajikistan, Georgia, Myanmar and Indonesia.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=86}}<ref name="Wang, Christoph Nedopil 2023"/> There are additional solar and wind farm projects in Kazakhstan and Pakistan.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=86}} | |||
In September 2021, Xi Jinping announced that his country will "step up support" for developing countries to adopt "green and low-carbon energy" and will no longer be financing overseas coal-fired power plants.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Why China's Promise to Stop Funding Coal Plants Around the World Is a Really Big Deal |url=https://time.com/6100439/china-stop-funding-coal-plants/ |magazine=Time |access-date=30 September 2021 |archive-date=14 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514053918/https://time.com/6100439/china-stop-funding-coal-plants/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Xi has seemingly failed to live up to this pledge, as there has been expressed interest by China in providing financial and technically support for new coal-fired power projects. In January 2023, Pakistan announced that it had approved the construction of a Chinese-funded 300 MW coal-fired power plant in Gwadar, Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |title=300MW coal power plant okayed for Gwadar |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1027065-300mw-coal-power-plant-okayed-for-gwadar |access-date=May 1, 2024 |publisher=International The News |date=January 4, 2023 |archive-date=14 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514023136/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1027065-300mw-coal-power-plant-okayed-for-gwadar |url-status=live }}</ref> More recently in January 2024, a 380 MW coal-fired power plant started operation in Sulawesi, Indonesia.<ref name="Wang, Christoph Nedopil 2023"/> | |||
===Allegations of human rights violations=== | |||
A 2021 analysis by AidData at the College of William & Mary found that 35 percent of BRI infrastructure projects have encountered "major implementations problems" such as labor violations, corruption, environmental hazards, and public protests.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Huang |first=Joyce |date=2023-10-08 |title=China and the Lessons Learned From a Decade of the BRI |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/china-and-the-lessons-learned-from-a-decade-of-the-bri-/7301915.html |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411060237/https://www.voanews.com/a/china-and-the-lessons-learned-from-a-decade-of-the-bri-/7301915.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=September 29, 2021 |title=Banking on the Belt and Road: Insights from a new global dataset of 13,427 Chinese development projects |url=https://www.aiddata.org/publications/banking-on-the-belt-and-road |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=8 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408012254/https://www.aiddata.org/publications/banking-on-the-belt-and-road |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
According to a report by American NGO ], there are widespread human rights violations concerning Chinese migrant workers sent abroad. The Chinese companies allegedly "commit forced labor" and usually confiscate the workers' passports once they arrive in another country, make them apply for illegal business visas and threaten to report their illegal status if they refuse to comply, refuse to give adequate medical care and rest, restrict workers' personal freedom and freedom of speech, force workers to overwork, cancel vacations, delay the payment of wages, publish deceptive advertisements and promises, browbeat workers with high amount of damages if they intend to leave, provide bad working and living conditions, punish workers who lead protests and so on.<ref name="CLW">{{Cite web |date=30 April 2021 |title=Silent Victims of Labor Trafficking: China's Belt and Road workers stranded overseas amid Covid-19 pandemic |url=https://chinalaborwatch.org/silent-victims-of-labor-trafficking-chinas-belt-and-road-workers-stranded-overseas-amid-covid-19-pandemic/ |access-date=4 October 2022 |website=China Labor Watch |archive-date=14 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514023818/https://chinalaborwatch.org/silent-victims-of-labor-trafficking-chinas-belt-and-road-workers-stranded-overseas-amid-covid-19-pandemic/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="voa51">{{Cite news |last=方冰 |date=1 May 2021 |title=劳工组织:"一带一路"加剧海外中国劳工被强迫劳动 |agency=美国之音 |url=https://www.voachinese.com/a/Forced-labor-Chinese-Worker-Overseas-Belt-Road-Initiative-Indonesia-China-Labor-Watch-20210430/5873308.html |access-date=1 May 2021 |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507031110/https://www.voachinese.com/a/Forced-labor-Chinese-Worker-Overseas-Belt-Road-Initiative-Indonesia-China-Labor-Watch-20210430/5873308.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
==== Table of BRI investment by country from 2014 to 2018 ==== | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
|+ BRI investment by country in billion $ from 2014 to 2018<ref name="AutoLT-23">{{Cite web |title=China Global Investment Tracker |work=American Enterprise Institute - AEI |url=http://www.aei.org/china-global-investment-tracker/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330231334/https://www.aei.org/china-global-investment-tracker/ |archive-date=30 March 2020 |access-date=5 May 2020 |publisher=American Enterprise Institute and Heritage Foundation}}</ref><ref name="AutoLT-24">{{Cite book |last=Scissors |first=Derek |url=https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/BRI-Senate-testimony-6.12.19.pdf |title=The Belt and Road is Overhyped, Commercially |date=12 June 2019 |publisher=American Enterprise Institute |chapter=Facts on the BRI's Past and Present |access-date=5 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301104316/https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/BRI-Senate-testimony-6.12.19.pdf |archive-date=1 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
|+ BRI investment by country in billion $ from 2014 to 2018<ref name="AutoLT-23" /><ref name="AutoLT-24" /> | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Country | |||
| '''Construction''' || '''Investment''' || '''Construction''' || '''Investment''' | |||
! Construction | |||
! Country | |||
! Investment | |||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flagu|Pakistan}} || 31.9 || {{flagu|Singapore}} || 24.3 | | {{flagu|Pakistan}} || 31.9 || {{flagu|Singapore}} || 24.3 | ||
Line 213: | Line 470: | ||
| {{flagu|Nigeria}} || 23.2 || {{flagu|Malaysia}} || 14.1 | | {{flagu|Nigeria}} || 23.2 || {{flagu|Malaysia}} || 14.1 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flagu|Bangladesh}} || 17.5 || {{flagu| |
| {{flagu|Bangladesh}} || 17.5 || {{flagu|Russia}} || 10.4 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flagu|Indonesia}} || 16.8 || {{flagu|Indonesia}} || 9.4 | | {{flagu|Indonesia}} || 16.8 || {{flagu|Indonesia}} || 9.4 | ||
Line 221: | Line 478: | ||
| {{flagu|Egypt}} || 15.3 || {{flagu|Israel}} || 7.9 | | {{flagu|Egypt}} || 15.3 || {{flagu|Israel}} || 7.9 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flagu| |
| {{flagu|United Arab Emirates}} || 14.7 || {{flagu|Pakistan}} || 7.6 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
==Reactions== | |||
=== Ecological issues === | |||
Generally, it is more important for China to persuade its domestic audiences of the benefits of BRI than it is to persuade foreign audiences at-large.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=148}} Academic Jeremy Garlick writes that this is a reason why the Chinese government presents the BRI in a way more intuitively understandable to domestic than global audiences.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=148}} | |||
The Belt and Road initiative has attracted attention and concern from environmental organizations. A joint report by the ] and ] argued that the BRI presents significant risks as well as opportunities for sustainable development. These risks include the overuse of natural resources, the disruption of ecosystems, and the emission of pollutants.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Greening the Belt and Road Initiative|url=https://www.sustainablefinance.hsbc.com/-/media/gbm/reports/sustainable-financing/greening-the-belt-and-road-initiative.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> ]s, such as ] in Turkey, are being built as part of BRI, thus increasing ] and ].<ref name="AutoLT-25" /> ] as a result of excess greenhouse gas emissions, ] preservation, ] and ] as a result of ] and over farming, mining practices, ], and air and water pollution as a result of poorly planned infrastructure projects are some of the ongoing concerns as they relate to Central Asian nations.<ref name=":3"/> | |||
Former EU diplomat ] describes the BRI as the world's first transnational ] because it goes beyond national policy to influence the industrial policy of other states.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=165}} | |||
A point of criticism of the BRI overall relates to the motivation of pollution and environmental degradation outsourcing to poorer nations, whose governments will disregard the consequences. In Serbia for instance, where pollution-related deaths already top Europe, the presence of Chinese-owned coal-powered plants have resulted in an augmentation in the country's dependency on coal, as well as air and soil pollution in some towns.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vuksanovic |first1=Vuk |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative Is Causing Environmental Damage in Serbia |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/16/serbia-china-bri-coal-copper-dirty-energy-dumping-ground/ |publisher=Foreign Policy |date=16 July 2021}}</ref> | |||
===Support=== | |||
According to German environmental group ], China's energy companies will make up nearly half of the new coal plant generation expected to go online in the next decade.<ref name="tabuchi">{{cite news|first=Hiroko|last=Tabuchi|date=1 July 2017|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/climate/china-energy-companies-coal-plants-climate-change.html|title=As Beijing Joins Climate Fight, Chinese Companies Build Coal Plants|work=The New York Times|issn=1553-8095|oclc=1645522}}</ref> BRI coal projects accounted for as much as 42% of China's overseas investment in 2018,<ref name="kuo">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/25/belt-and-road-forum-chinas-project-of-the-century-hits-tough-times|title=Belt and Road forum: China's 'project of the century' hits tough times|work=The Guardian|issn=1756-3224|oclc=60623878|first=Lily|last=Kuo|location=Beijing|date=25 April 2019}}</ref> and 93% of energy investments of the BRI-linked ] go to fossil fuels.<ref>{{cite document|first1=L.|last1=Zhou|first2=S.|last2=Gilbert|first3=Y.|last3=Wang|first4=M.|last4=Muñoz Cabre|first5=K.P.|last5=Gallagher|date=October 2018|title=Moving the Green Belt and Road Initiative: From Words to Actions|location=Washington, DC|publisher=World Resources Institute|url=https://www.wri.org/research/moving-green-belt-and-road-initiative-words-actions}}</ref> | |||
As of 2020, more than 130 countries had issued endorsements.<ref name="Economist 2020" /> UN Secretary General ] has described the BRI as capable of accelerating the UN Sustainable Development Goals.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=164}} Institutional connections between the BRI and multiple UN bodies have also been established.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=164}}] and China's President Xi Jinping during meeting, 2016]] | |||
In June 2016, Xi Jinping visited Poland and met with Poland's President ] and Prime Minister ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 June 2016 |title=President Duda hopes Poland will become China's gateway to Europe |work=President.pl |url=https://www.president.pl/en/news/art,191,president-duda-hopes-poland-will-become-chinas-gateway-to-europe.html |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415055933/https://www.president.pl/en/news/art,191,president-duda-hopes-poland-will-become-chinas-gateway-to-europe.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 February 2020 |title=President Duda sends sympathy message to President Xi Jinping |work=Polish Press Agency |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/president-duda-sends-sympathy-message-to-president-xi-jinping-10277 |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414180434/https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/president-duda-sends-sympathy-message-to-president-xi-jinping-10277 |url-status=live }}</ref> Duda and Xi signed a declaration on strategic partnership in which they reiterated that Poland and China viewed each other as long-term strategic partners.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 June 2016 |title=Xi welcomes Chinese freight train to 'strategic partner' Poland |work=] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-poland-china-xi/xi-welcomes-chinese-freight-train-to-strategic-partner-poland-idUKKCN0Z6205 |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308204431/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-poland-china-xi/xi-welcomes-chinese-freight-train-to-strategic-partner-poland-idUKKCN0Z6205 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
] and the Chinese President Xi Jinping on 4 February 2022]] | |||
As a wealthy country, Singapore does not need massive external financing or technical assistance for domestic infrastructure building, but has repeatedly endorsed the BRI and cooperated in related projects in a quest for global relevance and to strengthen economic ties with BRI recipients. It is also one of the largest investors in the project. Furthermore, there is a strategic defensive factor: making sure a single country is not the single dominant factor in Asian economics.<ref name="AutoLT-30">{{Cite journal |last=Chan |first=Irene |date=September 2019 |title=Reversing China's Belt-and-Road Initiative—Singapore's Response to the BRI and Its Quest for Relevance |journal=East Asia |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=185–204 |doi=10.1007/s12140-019-09317-7 |issn=1096-6838 |s2cid=203492432}}</ref> | |||
While the Philippines historically has been closely tied to the United States, China sought its support for the BRI in terms of the quest for dominance in the South China Sea. The Philippines adjusted its policy in favor of Chinese claims in the South China Sea under President ].<ref name="AutoLT-31">{{Cite journal |last=De Castro |first=Renato Cruz |date=21 August 2019 |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Duterte Administration's Appeasement Policy: Examining the Connection Between the Two National Strategies |journal=East Asia |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=205–227 |doi=10.1007/s12140-019-09315-9 |issn=1096-6838 |s2cid=202316018}}</ref> | |||
The development of port infrastructure and increasing shipping associated with the maritime Belt and Road Initiative could impact sensitive species and marine habitats like ]s, ]s, ]s and ].<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2020-02-01|title=China's Belt and Road Initiative: Conservation opportunities for threatened marine species and habitats|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308597X19307675|journal=Marine Policy|language=en|volume=112|pages=103791|doi=10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103791|issn=0308-597X|last1=Turschwell|first1=Mischa P.|last2=Brown|first2=Christopher J.|last3=Pearson|first3=Ryan M.|last4=Connolly|first4=Rod M.|s2cid=212771175}}</ref> | |||
In 2017, ], the former ], wrote in ] that his experience with the Belt and Road Initiative has been highly encouraging.<ref name="Varoufakis 2017">{{Cite web |last=Varoufakis |first=Yanis |date=27 October 2017 |title=China is the Real Deal |url=https://www.project-syndicate.org/videos/china-is-the-real-deal |access-date=17 December 2021 |website=] |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426064417/http://www.project-syndicate.org/videos/china-is-the-real-deal |url-status=live }}</ref> He remarked that the Chinese authorities managed to combine their sense of self-interest with a patient investment attitude and a genuine commitment to negotiate over and over again, in order to achieve a mutually advantageous agreement.<ref name="Varoufakis 2017" /> | |||
In the opening of the 2017 ], Chinese leader Xi Jinping stated that the BRI should "should pursue the new vision of green development and a way of life and work that is green, low-carbon, circular and sustainable" in accordance with the goals of the ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Full text of President Xi's speech at opening of Belt and Road forum - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/14/c_136282982.htm|access-date=2021-10-19|website=www.xinhuanet.com}}</ref> A report by the ] and ] frame the BRI as an opportunity for environmental protection so long as it is used to provide green trade, ], and investment in alignment with each country's implementation of the ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=A New Means to Transformative Global Governance Towards Sustainable Development {{!}} UNDP in China|url=https://www.cn.undp.org/content/china/en/home/library/south-south-cooperation/a-new-means-to-transformative-global-governance-towards-sustaina.html|access-date=2021-10-19|website=UNDP|language=en}}</ref> Other proposals include providing financial support for BRI member countries aiming to fulfill their contribution to the ], or providing resources and policy expertise to aid the expansion of ] sources such as ] in member countries.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Coenen|first1=Johanna|last2=Bager|first2=Simon|last3=Meyfroidt|first3=Patrick|last4=Newig|first4=Jens|last5=Challies|first5=Edward|date=2021|title=Environmental Governance of China's Belt and Road Initiative|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eet.1901|journal=Environmental Policy and Governance|language=en|volume=31|issue=1|pages=3–17|doi=10.1002/eet.1901|s2cid=225610730|issn=1756-9338}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Shi|last2=Lu|first2=Xi|last3=Miao|first3=Yufei|last4=Deng|first4=Yu|last5=Nielsen|first5=Chris P.|last6=Elbot|first6=Noah|last7=Wang|first7=Yuanchen|last8=Logan|first8=Kathryn G.|last9=McElroy|first9=Michael B.|last10=Hao|first10=Jiming|date=2019-08-21|title=The Potential of Photovoltaics to Power the Belt and Road Initiative|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435119302752|journal=Joule|language=en|volume=3|issue=8|pages=1895–1912|doi=10.1016/j.joule.2019.06.006|s2cid=197671970|issn=2542-4351}}</ref> | |||
In April 2019 and during the second ], China engaged in an array of partnerships called "Build the Belt and Road, Share Development and Prosperity" with 18 Arab countries. The general stand of African countries sees BRI as a tremendous opportunity for independence from foreign aid and influence.<ref name="africatimes_20190418_china">{{Cite web |date=18 April 2019 |title=China notes Africa's key BRI role ahead of forum in Beijing |url=https://africatimes.com/2019/04/18/china-notes-africas-key-bri-role-ahead-of-forum-in-beijing/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623105451/https://africatimes.com/2019/04/18/china-notes-africas-key-bri-role-ahead-of-forum-in-beijing/ |archive-date=23 June 2019 |access-date=23 June 2019 |website=Africa Times}}</ref> | |||
The Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) was launched during the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in April 2019. It aims to "integrate sustainable development, in particular environmental sustainability, international standards and best practices, across the... priorities of the Belt and Road Initiative".<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.unenvironment.org/regions/asia-and-pacific/regional-initiatives/belt-and-road-initiative-international-green |title=The Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition |date=9 October 2018 |access-date=24 September 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201125134639/https://www.unenvironment.org/regions/asia-and-pacific/regional-initiatives/belt-and-road-initiative-international-green |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.iddri.org/en/publications-and-events/blog-post/greening-belt-and-road-initiative-recent-advances-assessing-scale |publisher=IDDR|first=Sébastien|last=Treyer|title = Greening the Belt and Road Initiative |date=23 September 2019|access-date=24 September 2020 |archive-date=20 December 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201220143457/https://www.iddri.org/en/publications-and-events/blog-post/greening-belt-and-road-initiative-recent-advances-assessing-scale |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.ft.com/content/e00426f4-8ead-11ea-af59-5283fc4c0cb0 |title = China's Belt and Road urged to take green route |access-date=24 September 2020 |archive-date=17 December 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201217100008/https://www.ft.com/content/e00426f4-8ead-11ea-af59-5283fc4c0cb0 |url-status=live |first=Christian|last=Shepherd|date=5 June 2020|issn=0307-1766|work=Financial Times}}</ref> However, many scholars are unsure whether these best practices will be implemented. All BRI-specific environmental protection goals are outlined in informal guidelines rather than legally binding policies or regulations.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Greening or Greenwashing the Belt and Road Initiative?|url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/greening-or-greenwashing-belt-and-road-initiative|access-date=2021-10-19|website=www.csis.org|language=en}}</ref> Moreover, member nations may choose to prioritize economic development over environmental protections, leading them to neglect to enforce environmental policy or lower environmental policy standards.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gamso|first=Jonas|date=2018|title=Environmental policy impacts of trade with China and the moderating effect of governance|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eet.1807|journal=Environmental Policy and Governance|language=en|volume=28|issue=6|pages=395–405|doi=10.1002/eet.1807|s2cid=158113385|issn=1756-9338}}</ref> This could cause member nations to become "]" as Chinese ] are strengthened, though evidence of this currently happening is limited.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tracy|first1=Elena F.|last2=Shvarts|first2=Evgeny|last3=Simonov|first3=Eugene|last4=Babenko|first4=Mikhail|date=2017-01-02|title=China's new Eurasian ambitions: the environmental risks of the Silk Road Economic Belt|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2017.1295876|journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics|volume=58|issue=1|pages=56–88|doi=10.1080/15387216.2017.1295876|s2cid=157808832|issn=1538-7216}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tian|first1=Xu|last2=Hu|first2=Yunyi|last3=Yin|first3=Haitao|last4=Geng|first4=Yong|last5=Bleischwitz|first5=Raimund|date=2019-11-01|title=Trade impacts of China's Belt and Road Initiative: From resource and environmental perspectives|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344919303258|journal=Resources, Conservation and Recycling|language=en|volume=150|pages=104430|doi=10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104430|s2cid=202098591|issn=0921-3449}}</ref> | |||
], ], and 14 other Eastern European countries are already dealing with China within the framework of the BRI. In March 2019, Italy was the first member of the ] nations to join the BRI. The new partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth €2.5 billion across an array of sectors such as transport, logistics, and port infrastructure.<ref name="Ellyatt">{{Cite web |last=Ellyatt |first=Holly |date=27 March 2019 |title=Is Italy playing with fire when it comes to China? |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/italys-joins-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161750/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/italys-joins-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative.html |archive-date=1 May 2019 |access-date=23 June 2019 |publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
In September 2021, China's paramount leader Xi Jinping announced that his country will "step up support" for developing countries to adopt "green and low-carbon energy" and will no longer be financing overseas coal-fired power plants.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Why China's Promise to Stop Funding Coal Plants Around the World Is a Really Big Deal|url=https://time.com/6100439/china-stop-funding-coal-plants/|access-date=2021-09-30|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref> | |||
Despite initially criticizing BRI, the former ] ] pledged support for the BRI project in 2019.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=54}} He stated that he was fully in support of the Belt and Road Initiative and that his country would benefit from BRI. "Yes, the Belt and Road idea is great. It can bring the land-locked countries of ] closer to the sea. They can grow in wealth and their poverty reduced," Mahathir said.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/mahathir-endorse-belt-and-road-china-11481782 |website=CNA |date=26 April 2019 |title='The Belt and Road Initiative is great': Malaysia PM Mahathir|accessdate=30 July 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720061023/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/mahathir-endorse-belt-and-road-china-11481782 |archive-date= 20 July 2021 }}</ref> | |||
===Human rights accusations=== | |||
According to a report by American NGO ], there are widespread human rights violations concerning Chinese migrant workers sent abroad. The Chinese companies allegedly "commit forced labor" and usually confiscate the workers' passports once they arrive in another country, make them apply for illegal business visas and threaten to report their illegal status if they refuse to comply, refuse to give adequate medical care and rest, restrict workers' personal freedom and freedom of speech, force workers to overwork, cancel vacations, delay the payment of wages, publish deceptive advertisements and promises, browbeat workers with high amount of damages if they intend to leave, provide bad working and living conditions, punish workers who lead protests and so on.<ref name="CLW">{{cite web |title=Silent Victims of Labor Trafficking: China's Belt and Road workers stranded overseas amid Covid-19 pandemic |url=http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/report/151 |website=China Labor Watch |accessdate=2021-05-01}}</ref><ref name="voa51">{{cite news |author1=方冰 |title=劳工组织:"一带一路"加剧海外中国劳工被强迫劳动 |url=https://www.voachinese.com/a/Forced-labor-Chinese-Worker-Overseas-Belt-Road-Initiative-Indonesia-China-Labor-Watch-20210430/5873308.html |accessdate=2021-05-01 |agency=美国之音 |date=2021-05-01}}</ref> | |||
Russian political scientist ] argues that the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and China's Belt and Road Initiative will work together to promote economic integration throughout the region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karagamov |first=Sergey |date=26 October 2015 |title=The Promise of Eurasia |url=http://karaganov.ru/publications/preview/378 |access-date=22 February 2022 |website=karaganov.ru |language=ru |archive-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412065518/http://karaganov.ru/publications/preview/378 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
==Reactions and criticism== | |||
{{clear}}<!-- Critique means fair and objective analysis including both constructive criticism and positive aspects. Criticism means highlighting only negative aspects.--> | |||
=== |
===Opposition=== | ||
Some observers and skeptics, mainly from non-participant countries, including the ], interpret it as a plan for a ] ] ].<ref name="comp1">Compare: {{Citation |last=Chohan |first=Usman W. |title=What Is One Belt One Road? A Surplus Recycling Mechanism Approach |date=7 July 2017 |ssrn=2997650 |quote=It has been lauded as a visionary project among key participants such as China and Pakistan, but has received a critical reaction, arguably a poorly thought out one, in nonparticipant countries such as the United States and India (see various discussions in Ferdinand 2016, Kennedy and Parker 2015, Godement and Kratz, 2015, Li 2015, Rolland 2015, Swaine 2015).}}</ref><ref name="comp2">Compare: {{Cite web |date=12 April 2016 |title=Getting lost in 'One Belt, One Road' |url=http://www.ejinsight.com/20160412-getting-lost-one-belt-one-road/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414014511/http://www.ejinsight.com/20160412-getting-lost-one-belt-one-road/ |archive-date=14 April 2016 |access-date=13 April 2016 |website=Hong Kong Economic Journal |quote=Simply put, China is trying to buy friendship and political influence by investing massive amounts of money on infrastructure in countries along the 'One Belt, One Road'.}}</ref> In response the United States, ], and ] had formed a counter initiative, the ] in 2019, followed by the G7's ] initiative in 2021.<ref name="Blue Dot network">{{Cite web |date=26 February 2020 |title=Explained: What is the Blue Dot network, on the table during Trump visit to India |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-the-blue-dot-network-on-the-table-during-trump-visit-to-india-6286524/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226153240/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-the-blue-dot-network-on-the-table-during-trump-visit-to-india-6286524/ |archive-date=26 February 2020 |access-date=28 February 2020 |publisher=Indian Express}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Walden |first=Max |date=8 November 2019 |title=What is the Blue Dot Network and is it really the West's response to China's Belt and Road project? |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-09/blue-dot-network-explainer-us-china-belt-and-road/11682454 |url-status=live |access-date=28 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305224038/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-09/blue-dot-network-explainer-us-china-belt-and-road/11682454 |archive-date=5 March 2020}}</ref> | |||
To date, more than 130 countries have issued endorsements.<ref name=":0" /> Moscow has been an early partner of China, and Russia and China now have altogether 150 common projects including natural gas pipelines and the ].<ref name="asiatimes_20190425"/> In March 2015, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister ] asserted that "Russia should not view the Silk Road Economic Belt as a threat to its traditional, regional sphere of influence but as an opportunity for the ]". | |||
] and Chinese leader ] signed a declaration on strategic partnership in June 2016]] | |||
In June 2016, Polish President ] met with China's leader Xi Jinping,<ref>{{cite news |title=President Duda hopes Poland will become China's gateway to Europe |url=https://www.president.pl/en/news/art,191,president-duda-hopes-poland-will-become-chinas-gateway-to-europe.html |work=President.pl |date=20 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=President Duda sends sympathy message to President Xi Jinping |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/president-duda-sends-sympathy-message-to-president-xi-jinping-10277 |work=Polish Press Agency |date=3 February 2020}}</ref> saying that "Polish companies will benefit hugely" from Belt and Road Initiative.<ref>{{cite news |title=Polish president says Xi Jinping understands central European dynamic |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2016xivisitee/2016-06/19/content_25763414.htm |work=Chinadaily.com.cn |date=19 June 2016}}</ref> Duda and Xi signed a declaration on strategic partnership in which they reiterated that ] and China viewed each other as long-term strategic partners.<ref>{{cite news |title=Xi welcomes Chinese freight train to 'strategic partner' Poland |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-poland-china-xi/xi-welcomes-chinese-freight-train-to-strategic-partner-poland-idUKKCN0Z6205 |work=Reuters |date=20 June 2016}}</ref> | |||
The United States proposes a counter-initiative called the "]" (FOIP). US officials have articulated the strategy as having three pillars: security, economics, and governance.<ref name="AutoLT-32">{{Cite web |author=Prashanth Parameswaran |title=Advancing Democracy in the US Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/04/advancing-democracy-in-the-us-free-and-open-indo-pacific-strategy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425155943/https://thediplomat.com/2019/04/advancing-democracy-in-the-us-free-and-open-indo-pacific-strategy/ |archive-date=25 April 2019 |access-date=23 June 2019 |website=The Diplomat}}</ref> At the beginning of June 2019, there has been a redefinition of the general definitions of "free" and "open" into four stated principles: respect for sovereignty and independence; peaceful resolution of disputes; free, fair, and reciprocal trade; and adherence to international rules and norms.<ref name="defense_2002139210">{{Cite web |title=Ministry of US Defense. Indo-Pacific Report June 2019 |url=https://media.defense.gov/2019/May/31/2002139210/-1/-1/1/DOD_INDO_PACIFIC_STRATEGY_REPORT_JUNE_2019.PDF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626000337/https://media.defense.gov/2019/May/31/2002139210/-1/-1/1/DOD_INDO_PACIFIC_STRATEGY_REPORT_JUNE_2019.PDF |archive-date=26 June 2019 |access-date=23 June 2019}}</ref> | |||
As a wealthy country, Singapore does not need massive external financing or technical assistance for domestic infrastructure building, but repeatedly endorsed the BRI and cooperated in related projects in a quest for global relevance and to strengthen economic ties with BRI recipients. It is also one of the largest investors in the project. Furthermore, there is a strategic defensive factor: making sure a single country is not the single dominant factor in Asian economics.<ref name="AutoLT-30"/> | |||
Government officials in India have repeatedly objected to China's Belt and Road Initiative.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 November 2020 |title=India refuses to support China's Belt and Road project at SCO meet |work=] |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-doesn-t-join-sco-members-in-endorsing-china-s-belt-and-road-project/story-CBH22ODWVImRFpwkkhehWI.html |access-date=21 February 2022 |archive-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518153956/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-doesn-t-join-sco-members-in-endorsing-china-s-belt-and-road-project/story-CBH22ODWVImRFpwkkhehWI.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In particular, they believe the "China–Pakistan Economic Corridor" (CPEC) project ignores New Delhi's essential concerns about its sovereignty and territorial integrity.<ref name="hindustantimes_20160422">{{Cite web |date=22 April 2016 |title=CPEC route through Kashmir could create tension with India: UN report |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/cpec-route-through-kashmir-could-create-tension-with-india-un-report/story-05fDgjtdFmATT6K13ZJffN.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511024457/https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/cpec-route-through-kashmir-could-create-tension-with-india-un-report/story-05fDgjtdFmATT6K13ZJffN.html |archive-date=11 May 2019 |access-date=28 May 2019 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
While the ] historically has been closely tied to the United States, China has sought its support for the BRI in terms of the quest for dominance in the ]. The Philippines has adjusted its policy in favor of Chinese claims in the South China Sea under Philippines President ] who expects support of his plans for massive infrastructure expansion.<ref name="AutoLT-31"/> | |||
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had initially found the terms of BRI to be too harsh for most countries and recommended countries avoid joining the BRI, but has changed his stance since.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 November 2019 |title=China: Power and Prosperity -- Watch the full documentary |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JovtmKFxi3c |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/JovtmKFxi3c |archive-date=30 October 2021 |access-date=26 June 2021 |publisher=PBS |at=16:13 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 April 2019 |title='The Belt and Road Initiative is great': Malaysia PM Mahathir |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/mahathir-endorse-belt-and-road-china-889066 |access-date=5 August 2021 |publisher=Channel News Asia |archive-date=19 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419050106/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/mahathir-endorse-belt-and-road-china-889066 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
In 2017 ], the former ], wrote in '']'' that his experience with the Belt and Road Initiative has been highly encouraging.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Varoufakis|first=Yanis|date=2017-10-27|title=China is the Real Deal|url=https://www.project-syndicate.org/videos/china-is-the-real-deal|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-17|website=]|language=en}}</ref> He remarked that the Chinese authorities managed to combine their sense of self-interest with a patient investment attitude and a genuine commitment to negotiate over and over again, in order to achieve a mutually advantageous agreement.<ref name=":5" /> | |||
According to a report by ], in 2019 the United States ] began a clandestine campaign on ] to spread negative narratives about the ] in an effort to influence Chinese public opinion against the government. The CIA promoted narratives that CCP leaders were hiding money overseas and that the BRI was corrupt and wasteful. As part of the campaign, the CIA also targeted foreign countries where the United States and China compete for influence.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last1=Bing |first1=Christopher |last2=Schectman |first2=Joel |date=March 14, 2024 |title=Exclusive: Trump Launched CIA Covert Influence Operation against China |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-launched-cia-covert-influence-operation-against-china-2024-03-14/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327081927/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-launched-cia-covert-influence-operation-against-china-2024-03-14/ |archive-date=27 March 2024 |access-date=June 14, 2024 |work=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Economy |first=Elizabeth |title=China's Alternative Order:And What America Should Learn From It |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas-alternative-order-xi-jinping-elizabeth-economy |journal=Foreign Affairs |date=23 April 2024 |volume=103 |issue=3 |archive-date=4 October 2024 |access-date=4 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241004142642/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas-alternative-order-xi-jinping-elizabeth-economy |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In April 2019 and during the second ], China engaged in an array of partnerships called "Build the Belt and Road, Share Development and Prosperity" with 18 Arab countries. The general stand of African countries sees BRI as a tremendous opportunity for independence from foreign aid and influence.<ref name="africatimes_20190418_china"/> | |||
===Mixed=== | |||
], ] and 14 other Eastern European countries are already dealing with China within the framework of the BRI. In March 2019, Italy was the first member of the ] nations to join the BRI. The new partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth €2.5 billion across an array of sectors such as transport, logistics and port infrastructure.<ref name="Ellyatt"/> | |||
Vietnam historically has been at odds with China, so it has been indecisive about supporting or opposing BRI.<ref name="AutoLT-33">{{Cite journal |last1=Di Lan |first1=Ngo |last2=Vu |first2=Truong-Minh |date=September 2019 |title=The Sino-US-Vietnam Triangle in a Belt and Road Era |journal=East Asia |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=229–241 |doi=10.1007/s12140-019-09318-6 |issn=1096-6838 |s2cid=211091110}}</ref> In December 2023, Vietnam and China agreed a number of cooperation documents, including one related to the BRI.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/1637945/viet-nam-china-sign-36-cooperation-documents-on-diplomacy-trade-defence-sea-issues.html | title=Việt Nam, China sign 36 cooperation documents on diplomacy, trade, defence & sea issues | access-date=13 December 2023 | archive-date=13 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213041904/https://vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/1637945/viet-nam-china-sign-36-cooperation-documents-on-diplomacy-trade-defence-sea-issues.html | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
South Korea has tried to develop the "Eurasia Initiative" (EAI) as its own vision for an east–west connection. In calling for a revival of the ancient Silk Road, the main goal of President ] was to encourage a flow of economic, political, and social interaction from Europe through the ]. Her successor, President ] announced his own foreign policy initiative, the "New Southern Policy" (NSP), which seeks to strengthen relations with Southeast Asia.<ref name="AutoLT-34">{{Cite journal |last=Hwang |first=Balbina Y. |date=26 June 2019 |title=Northeast Asian Perspectives on China's Belt Road Initiative: the View from South Korea |journal=East Asia |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=129–150 |doi=10.1007/s12140-019-09310-0 |issn=1096-6838 |s2cid=198492001 |doi-access=free}}</ref> | |||
Despite initially criticising BRI, the former ] ] pledged support for the BRI project in 2019. He stated that he was fully in support of the Belt and Road Initiative and that his country would benefit from BRI. “Yes, the Belt and Road idea is great. It can bring the land-locked countries of ] closer to the sea. They can grow in wealth and their poverty reduced,” Mahathir said.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/mahathir-endorse-belt-and-road-china-11481782|title='The Belt and Road Initiative is great': Malaysia PM Mahathir}}</ref> | |||
In 2017, former secretary of state ] stressed that cooperation between the US and Chinese governments was preferable to a race towards a new cold war. In his view the United States should embed itself into the Belt and Road Initiative by way of joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which would allow the United States to legitimately object to Chinese diplomatic over-reach.<ref>{{cite web |last=Delaney |first=Robert |date=2017-09-27 |title=Kissinger urges greater cooperation with China as 'the world's center of gravity' shifts |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/world/2024/06/501_237061.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240608005104/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/world/2024/06/501_237061.html |archive-date=8 June 2024 |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKI6M2UiCGk|title=Henry Kissinger and Graham Allison on the U.S., China, and the Thucydides's Trap|last1=Kissinger|first1=Henry|author-link1= |last2=Allison|first2=Graham|author-link2= |date=July 11, 2017 |publisher=]|book-title= |pages= |location=Harvard Club of New York City |conference= |id=}}</ref> | |||
===Opposition=== | |||
Some observers and skeptics, mainly from non-participant countries, including the ], interpret it as a plan for a ] ] ].{{r|comp1|comp2}} In response the ], ] and ] had formed a counter initiative, the ] in 2019, followed by the G7's ] initiative in 2021.<ref name="Blue Dot network" /><ref>{{cite news |title=What is the Blue Dot Network and is it really the West's response to China's Belt and Road project? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-09/blue-dot-network-explainer-us-china-belt-and-road/11682454 |date=November 8, 2019 |work=ABC News |access-date=2020-02-28 |archive-date=2020-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305224038/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-09/blue-dot-network-explainer-us-china-belt-and-road/11682454 |url-status=live|last1=Walden |first1=Max }}</ref> | |||
While Italy and Greece have joined the Belt and Road Initiative, other European countries have voiced ambivalent opinions. German chancellor ] declared that the BRI "must lead to a certain reciprocity, and we are still wrangling over that bit". In January 2019, French president ] said, "the ancient Silk Roads were never just Chinese … New roads cannot go just one way."<ref name="Ellyatt" /> ] Chief ] and Japanese Prime Minister ] signed an infrastructure agreement in ] in September 2019 to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative and link Europe and Asia to coordinate infrastructure, transport, and digital projects.<ref name="AutoLT-35">{{Cite web |last=Eva |first=Joanna |date=30 September 2019 |title=Japan and the EU sign infrastructure deal to rival China's Belt and Road |url=https://www.european-views.com/2019/09/japan-and-the-eu-sign-infrastructure-deal-to-rival-chinas-belt-and-road/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102061341/https://www.european-views.com/2019/09/japan-and-the-eu-sign-infrastructure-deal-to-rival-chinas-belt-and-road/ |archive-date=2 January 2020 |access-date=2 January 2020 |website=European Views}}</ref><ref name="co_20190928_business">{{Cite news |date=28 September 2019 |title=Japan and EU ink infrastructure cooperation pact in counter to China's Belt and Road |work=] |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/09/28/business/japan-eu-vow-infrastructure-cooperation-counter-china/ |url-status=live |access-date=2 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102061339/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/09/28/business/japan-eu-vow-infrastructure-cooperation-counter-china/ |archive-date=2 January 2020 |issn=0447-5763}}</ref> | |||
The United States proposes a counter-initiative called the "]" (FOIP). US officials have articulated the strategy as having three pillars{{snd}}security, economics, and governance.<ref name="AutoLT-32"/> At the beginning of June 2019, there has been a redefinition of the general definitions of "free" and "open" into four stated principles{{snd}}respect for sovereignty and independence; peaceful resolution of disputes; free, fair, and reciprocal trade; and adherence to international rules and norms.<ref name="defense_2002139210"/> | |||
In 2018, the premier of the south-eastern Australian ] of ], ], signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative to establish infrastructure ties and further relations with China.<ref name="AutoLT-36">{{Cite web |year=2014 |title=Memorandum of Understanding between the state of Victoria in Australia and the People's Republic of China |url=https://www.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-02/Belt-and-Road-Initiative-MOU.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200601023828/https://www.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-02/Belt-and-Road-Initiative-MOU.pdf |archive-date=1 June 2020 |access-date=19 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="Taylor 2020">{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Josh |date=2 May 2020 |title=China's belt and road initiative: what is it and why is Victoria under fire for its involvement? |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-what-is-it-and-why-is-victoria-under-fire-for-its-involvement |url-status=live |access-date=20 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620221702/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-what-is-it-and-why-is-victoria-under-fire-for-its-involvement |archive-date=20 June 2020 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Home Affairs Minister ] described the BRI as "a propaganda initiative from China" that brings an "enormous amount of foreign interference", while arguing that "Victoria needs to explain why it is the only state in the country that has entered into this agreement". Prime Minister ] said Victoria was stepping into federal government policy territory, stating "We didn't support that decision at the time made . National interest issues on foreign affairs are determined by the federal government, and I respect their jurisdiction when it comes to the issues they're responsible for, and it's always been the usual practice for states to respect and recognise the role of the federal government in setting ]". In April 2021, Foreign Minister ] declared Australia would pull out of the Belt and Road Initiative, cancelling Victoria's agreements signed with China, and pulling out of the "Belt and Road" initiative completely.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 April 2021 |title=Federal government rips up Victoria's controversial Belt and Road agreement with China |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/federal-government-rips-up-victoria-s-controversial-belt-and-road-agreement-with-china |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421101325/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/federal-government-rips-up-victoria-s-controversial-belt-and-road-agreement-with-china |archive-date=21 April 2021 |access-date=21 April 2021 |work=] |publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="Taylor 2020" /><ref name="AutoLT-37">{{Cite web |title=Turnbull plays down Belt and Road fears |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/turnbull-plays-down-belt-and-road-fears |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620084750/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/turnbull-plays-down-belt-and-road-fears |archive-date=20 June 2020 |access-date=20 June 2020 |website=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 June 2020 |title=The pandemic is hurting China's Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-hurting-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613235900/https://www.economist.com/china/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-hurting-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative |archive-date=13 June 2020 |access-date=14 June 2020 |newspaper=] |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> The federal government's decision to veto the deal reflected the increasingly soured relationship between the Australian Government and the Chinese Government, after China's alleged attempts to employ economic coercion<ref>{{Cite web |title=Summary of Australia's involvement in disputes currently before the World Trade Organization |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/organisations/wto/wto-disputes/summary-of-australias-involvement-in-disputes-currently-before-the-world-trade-organization |access-date=18 December 2021 |website=Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |publisher=The Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |archive-date=18 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218085831/https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/organisations/wto/wto-disputes/summary-of-australias-involvement-in-disputes-currently-before-the-world-trade-organization |url-status=live }}</ref> in response to the Australian Government's support for an inquest into the origins of COVID-19,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dziedzic |first=Stephen |date=20 May 2020 |title=Australia started a fight with China over an investigation into COVID-19 — did it go too hard? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-20/wha-passes-coronavirus-investigation-australia-what-cost/12265896 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521225421/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-20/wha-passes-coronavirus-investigation-australia-what-cost/12265896 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |access-date=18 December 2021 |work=]}}</ref> as well as the Australian Government's decision to support the US in several regional disputes opposing China, such as the issue of Taiwan<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 November 2021 |title=Australia would help US defend Taiwan |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/11/14/2003767840 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218085836/https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/11/14/2003767840 |archive-date=18 December 2021 |access-date=18 December 2021 |work=]}}</ref> or the South China Sea.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thayer |first=Carl |date=27 July 2020 |title=Australia Abandons Its Neutrality on the South China Sea Maritime Disputes |url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/australia-abandons-its-neutrality-on-the-south-china-sea-maritime-disputes/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218085847/https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/australia-abandons-its-neutrality-on-the-south-china-sea-maritime-disputes/ |archive-date=18 December 2021 |access-date=18 December 2021 |work=]}}</ref> | |||
Government officials in ] have repeatedly objected to China's Belt and Road Initiative.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 November 2020 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-doesn-t-join-sco-members-in-endorsing-china-s-belt-and-road-project/story-CBH22ODWVImRFpwkkhehWI.html |title=India refuses to support China's Belt and Road project at SCO meet |work=] |access-date=21 February 2022}}</ref> In particular, they believe the "]" (CPEC) project ignores New Delhi's essential concerns on its sovereignty and territorial integrity.<ref name="hindustantimes_20160422"/> | |||
In October 2024, Brazil opted against joining the BRI.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Naaz |first=Fareha |date=29 October 2024 |title=China faces setback: Brazil follows in India's footsteps, becomes second BRICS country to reject BRI |url=https://www.livemint.com/news/brazil-follows-in-indias-footsteps-becomes-second-brics-country-to-reject-bri-in-setback-for-china-11730204408442.html |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=] |archive-date=29 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241029165743/https://www.livemint.com/news/brazil-follows-in-indias-footsteps-becomes-second-brics-country-to-reject-bri-in-setback-for-china-11730204408442.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Arthur |date=2024-10-31 |title=Back from BRICS Summit, Brazil Bucks Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2024/10/back-from-brics-summit-brazil-bucks-belt-and-road-initiative/ |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=] |language=en-US |archive-date=9 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109180508/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2024/10/back-from-brics-summit-brazil-bucks-belt-and-road-initiative/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Former Malaysian prime minister ] had initially found the terms of BRI to be too harsh for most countries and recommended countries avoid joining the BRI, but has changed his stance since.<ref>{{cite web |title=China: Power and Prosperity -- Watch the full documentary |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JovtmKFxi3c | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/JovtmKFxi3c| archive-date=2021-10-30|publisher=PBS |date=22 November 2019 |access-date=26 June 2021 |language=en |at=16:13}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/mahathir-endorse-belt-and-road-china-889066 |title='The Belt and Road Initiative is great': Malaysia PM Mahathir |date=26 April 2019| publisher= Channel News Asia |access-date= 5 August 2021}}</ref> | |||
=== Accusations of neo-colonialism and debt-trap diplomacy === | |||
===Mixed=== | |||
{{anchor | Neocolonialism | Debt | Trap | Predatory | Debt-trap diplomacy | Predatory lending}} | |||
] historically has been at odds with China, so it has been indecisive about supporting or opposing BRI.<ref name="AutoLT-33"/> | |||
{{main|Debt-trap diplomacy||l2 = }} | |||
] has tried to develop the "Eurasia Initiative" (EAI) as its own vision for an east–west connection. In calling for a revival of the ancient Silk Road, the main goal of President ] was to encourage a flow of economic, political, and social interaction from Europe through the ]. Her successor, President ] announced his own foreign policy initiative, the "New Southern Policy" (NSP), which seeks to strengthen relations with Southeast Asia.<ref name="AutoLT-34"/> | |||
==== Accusations ==== | |||
While Italy and Greece have joined the Belt and Road Initiative, other European countries have voiced ambivalent opinions. German chancellor ] declared that the BRI "must lead to a certain reciprocity, and we are still wrangling over that bit". In January 2019 French president ] said: "the ancient Silk Roads were never just Chinese … New roads cannot go just one way."<ref name="Ellyatt"/> ] Chief ] and Japanese Prime Minister ] signed an infrastructure agreement in ] in September 2019 to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative and link Europe and Asia to coordinate infrastructure, transport and digital projects.<ref name="AutoLT-35"/><ref name="co_20190928_business"/> | |||
Some, including Western governments,<ref name="dmav">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=21 February 2018 |title=ISS Today: Lessons from Sri Lanka on China's 'debt-trap diplomacy' |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-02-21-iss-today-lessons-from-sri-lanka-on-chinas-debt-trap-diplomacy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915231046/https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-02-21-iss-today-lessons-from-sri-lanka-on-chinas-debt-trap-diplomacy/ |archive-date=15 September 2018 |access-date=15 September 2018 |website=]}}</ref> have accused the Belt and Road Initiative of being a form of ], due to what they allege is China's practice of debt-trap diplomacy to fund the initiative's infrastructure projects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Belt and Road: colonialism with Chinese characteristics |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/belt-and-road-colonialism-chinese-characteristics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418102420/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/belt-and-road-colonialism-chinese-characteristics |archive-date=18 April 2021 |access-date=8 April 2021 |website=]}}</ref> The concept of debt-trap diplomacy was first coined by an Indian ], the New Delhi-based ], before being picked up and expanded on by papers by two Harvard students, which subsequently gained media attention in the mainstream press.<ref name="Brautigam, D. 2020">{{Cite journal |last=Brautigam |first=D. |year=2020 |title=A critical look at Chinese 'debt-trap diplomacy': The rise of a meme |journal=Area Development and Policy |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828 |s2cid=214547742}}</ref> | |||
China contends that the initiative has provided markets for commodities, improved prices of resources, and thereby reduced inequalities in exchange, improved infrastructure, created employment, stimulated industrialization, and expanded ], thereby benefiting host countries.<ref name="blan-revisit">{{Cite news |last=Blanchard |first=Jean-Marc F. |date=8 February 2018 |title=Revisiting the Resurrected Debate About Chinese Neocolonialism |work=] |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/revisiting-the-resurrected-debate-about-chinese-neocolonialism/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123195340/https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/revisiting-the-resurrected-debate-about-chinese-neocolonialism/ |archive-date=23 November 2018}}</ref> | |||
In 2018, the premier of the south-eastern Australian ] of ], ], signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative to establish infrastructure ties and further relations with China.<ref name="AutoLT-36"/><ref name=":1"/> Home Affairs Minister ] described the BRI as "a propaganda initiative from China" that brings an "enormous amount of foreign interference", while arguing that "Victoria needs to explain why it is the only state in the country that has entered into this agreement". Prime Minister ] said Victoria was stepping into federal government policy territory, stating "We didn't support that decision at the time made . And national interest issues on foreign affairs are determined by the federal government, and I respect their jurisdiction when it comes to the issues they're responsible for and it's always been the usual practice for states to respect and recognise the role of the federal government in setting ]". In April 2021, Foreign Minister ] declared Australia would pull out of the Belt and Road Initiative, tearing up Victoria's agreements signed throughout with China and pulling out of the "Belt and Road" initiative completely.<ref>{{cite news |title=Federal government rips up Victoria's controversial Belt and Road agreement with China |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/federal-government-rips-up-victoria-s-controversial-belt-and-road-agreement-with-china |date=21 April 2021 |access-date=21 April 2021 |publisher=] |work=SBS News}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name="AutoLT-37"/><!--ref name="Diplomat420"/--><ref>{{cite news |date=June 4, 2020 |title=The pandemic is hurting China's Belt and Road Initiative |newspaper=] |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-hurting-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative |url-status=live |access-date=2020-06-14 |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=2020-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613235900/https://www.economist.com/china/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-hurting-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative}}</ref> The federal government's decision to veto the deal reflected the increasingly soured relationship between the Australian Government and the CCP, after the CCP's alleged attempts to employ economic coercion<ref>{{Cite web|title=Summary of Australia's involvement in disputes currently before the World Trade Organization|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/organisations/wto/wto-disputes/summary-of-australias-involvement-in-disputes-currently-before-the-world-trade-organization|url-status=live|access-date=18 December 2021|website=Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade|publisher=The Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}</ref> in response to the Australian Government's support for an inquest into the origins of COVID-19,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dziedzic|first=Stephen|date=20 May 2020|title=Australia started a fight with China over an investigation into COVID-19 — did it go too hard?|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-20/wha-passes-coronavirus-investigation-australia-what-cost/12265896|access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref> as well as the Australian Government's decision to support the US in several regional disputes opposing the CCP, such as the issue of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)<ref>{{Cite news|date=14 November 2021|title=Australia would help US defend Taiwan|work=Taipei Times|publisher=Taipei Times|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/11/14/2003767840|access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref> or the South China Sea.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Thayer|first=Carl|date=27 July 2020|title=Australia Abandons Its Neutrality on the South China Sea Maritime Disputes|work=The Diplomat|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/australia-abandons-its-neutrality-on-the-south-china-sea-maritime-disputes/|access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref> | |||
Tanzanian President ] said the loan agreements of BRI projects in his country were "exploitative and awkward".<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107234726/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/tanzania-president-terms-bri-port-project-exploitative/articleshow/70109612.cms |date=7 November 2020 }} (July 2019)</ref> He said Chinese financiers set "tough conditions that can only be accepted by mad people," because his government was asked to give them a guarantee of 33 years and an extensive lease of 99 years on a port construction. Magufuli said Chinese contractors wanted to take the land as their own, but his government had to compensate them for drilling the project construction.<ref>{{Cite news |title=China is thinking twice about lending to Africa |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/06/29/china-is-thinking-twice-about-lending-to-africa |url-status=live |access-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218134328/https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/06/29/china-is-thinking-twice-about-lending-to-africa |archive-date=18 December 2020}}</ref> | |||
=== Accusations of neo-imperialism and debt-trap diplomacy === | |||
{{anchor | Neocolonialism | Debt | Trap | Predatory | Debt-trap diplomacy | Predatory lending}} | |||
{{main | Debt-trap diplomacy | China's salami slicing | l2= Chinese salami slicing strategy }} | |||
{{See also | Predatory lending }} | |||
In May 2021, DRC's President ] called for a review of mining contracts signed with China by his predecessor ],<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 October 2021 |title=DRC's Tshisekedi has secured his power base: now it's time to deliver |work=] |url=https://theconversation.com/drcs-tshisekedi-has-secured-his-power-base-now-its-time-to-deliver-170282 |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205828/https://theconversation.com/drcs-tshisekedi-has-secured-his-power-base-now-its-time-to-deliver-170282 |url-status=live }}</ref> in particular, the Sicomines multibillion-dollar ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 June 2018 |title=The Belt and Road Bubble Is Starting to Burst |work=] |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/27/the-belt-and-road-bubble-is-starting-to-burst/ |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=9 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209195044/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/27/the-belt-and-road-bubble-is-starting-to-burst/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=28 September 2021 |title=Congo Reviews $6.2 Billion China Mining Deal as Criticism Grows |work=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-28/congo-reviews-6-2-billion-china-mining-deal-as-criticism-grows |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205823/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-28/congo-reviews-6-2-billion-china-mining-deal-as-criticism-grows |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=28 November 2021 |title=China Cash Flowed Through Congo Bank to Former President's Cronies |work=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-11-28/africa-s-biggest-data-leak-reveals-china-money-role-in-kabila-s-congo-looting |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205825/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-11-28/africa-s-biggest-data-leak-reveals-china-money-role-in-kabila-s-congo-looting |url-status=live }}</ref> China's plans to link its western Xinjiang province to Gwadar in the Balochistan province of Pakistan with its US$500m investment in the Gwadar Port has met resistance from local fishermen protesting against Chinese trawlers and ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2021 |title=Pakistan detains five Chinese trawlers for alleged illegal fishing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/pakistan-detains-five-chinese-trawlers-for-alleged-fishing |website=] |access-date=14 May 2024 |archive-date=14 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514023807/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/pakistan-detains-five-chinese-trawlers-for-alleged-fishing |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bokhari |first1=Farhan |last2=Parkin |first2=Benjamin |date=19 December 2021 |title=Pakistan seeks to calm protesters at Chinese Belt and Road port project |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/0bd3988d-96d6-47a2-8006-1810cd90c151 |access-date=14 May 2024 |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402190954/https://www.ft.com/content/0bd3988d-96d6-47a2-8006-1810cd90c151 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
==== Accusations ==== | |||
There has been concern over the project being a form of ]. Some governments have accused the Belt and Road Initiative of being neocolonial due to what they allege is China's practice of ] to fund the initiative's infrastructure projects.<ref name="dmav"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Belt and Road: colonialism with Chinese characteristics|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/belt-and-road-colonialism-chinese-characteristics|access-date=2021-04-08|website=www.lowyinstitute.org|language=en}}</ref> The idea of debt trap diplomacy was created by an Indian ] before being expanded on by papers by two Harvard students, which gained media attention.<ref name="Brautigam, D. 2020">{{cite journal|last=Brautigam|first=D.|year=2020|title=A critical look at Chinese 'debt-trap diplomacy': The rise of a meme|journal=Area Development and Policy|volume=5|issue=1|pages=1–14|doi=10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828|s2cid=214547742}}</ref> | |||
==== Rebuttals ==== | |||
China contends that the initiative has provided markets for commodities, improved prices of resources and thereby reduced inequalities in exchange, improved infrastructure, created employment, stimulated industrialization, and expanded ], thereby benefiting host countries.<ref name="blan-revisit"/> | |||
], a professor at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, described the debt-trap diplomacy theory as a "meme" that became popular due to "human negativity bias" based on anxiety about the rise of China.<ref name="Brautigam 2020">{{Cite journal |last=Bräutigam |first=Deborah |author-link=Deborah Bräutigam |date=2 January 2020 |title=A critical look at Chinese 'debt-trap diplomacy': the rise of a meme |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828 |url-status=live |journal=Area Development and Policy |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828 |issn=2379-2949 |s2cid=214547742 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529130924/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828 |archive-date=29 May 2024 |access-date=19 December 2021}}</ref> A 2019 research paper by Bräutigam revealed that most of the debtor countries voluntarily signed on to the loans and had positive experiences working with China, and "the evidence so far, including the Sri Lankan case, shows that the drumbeat of alarm about Chinese banks' funding of infrastructure across the BRI and beyond is overblown" and "a large number of people have favorable opinions of China as an economic model and consider China an attractive partner for their development."<ref name="Brautigam 2020" /> She said that the theory lacked evidence and criticized the media for promoting a narrative that "wrongfully misrepresents the relationship between China and the developing countries that it deals with," highlighting the fact that Sri Lanka owed more to Japan, the ], and the ] than to China.<ref name="Rithmire">{{Cite news |last1=Bräutigam |first1=Deborah |author-link=Deborah Bräutigam |last2=Rithmire |first2=Meg |date=6 February 2021 |title=The Chinese 'Debt Trap' Is a Myth |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/02/china-debt-trap-diplomacy/617953/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206101218/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/02/china-debt-trap-diplomacy/617953/ |archive-date=6 February 2021 |access-date=19 December 2021 |work=]}}</ref> A 2018 ] report, co-authored by Bräutigam, remarked that "Chinese loans are not currently a major contributor to debt distress in Africa."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Path Ahead: The 7th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation |url=http://www.sais-cari.org/s/Briefing-Paper-1-August-2018-Final.pdf |access-date=25 July 2021 |website=] |archive-date=22 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222082047/http://www.sais-cari.org/s/Briefing-Paper-1-August-2018-Final.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
According to ]-based economist Anastasia Papadimitriou, partnering countries are equally responsible when making deals with China. China's alleged "neocolonialist intentions" can be disproved by Sri Lanka's ] project on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka, one of the most cited examples of debt-trap diplomacy.<ref name="Papadimitriou 2019">{{Cite web |last=Papadimitriou |first=Anastasia |date=20 October 2019 |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative: Is it Truly Neocolonialist? |url=https://www.theworldmind.org/home/2019/10/20/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-is-it-truly-neocolonialist |website=World Mind –American University's undergraduate policy magazine |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331114406/https://www.theworldmind.org/home/2019/10/20/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-is-it-truly-neocolonialist |url-status=live }}</ref> After an analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative, Papadimitriou concludes that it is "not so much neocolonialism, rather it is ]".<ref name="Papadimitriou 2019" /> Additionally, ], a ]-based international affairs think tank, asserted that the debt crisis in Sri Lanka was unrelated to Chinese lending, but was instead caused mainly from "the misconduct of local elites and Western-dominated financial markets".<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 August 2020 |title=Debunking the Myth of 'Debt-trap Diplomacy' |url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/08/debunking-myth-debt-trap-diplomacy |access-date=18 December 2021 |website=Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank |archive-date=5 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505054610/https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/08/debunking-myth-debt-trap-diplomacy |url-status=live }}</ref> It was confirmed by ]. A 2019 report by the Lowy Institute said that China had not engaged in deliberate actions in the Pacific which justified accusations of debt-trap diplomacy (based on contemporaneous evidence), and China had not been the primary driver behind rising debt risks in the Pacific; the report expressed concern about the scale of the country's lending, however, and the institutional weakness of Pacific states which posed the risk of small states being overwhelmed by debt.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Rajah |first1=Roland |last2=Dayant |first2=Alexandre |last3=Pryke |first3=Jonathan |date=21 October 2019 |title=Ocean of debt? Belt and Road and debt diplomacy in the Pacific |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/ocean-debt-belt-and-road-and-debt-diplomacy-pacific |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526115226/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/ocean-debt-belt-and-road-and-debt-diplomacy-pacific |archive-date=26 May 2022 |access-date=24 July 2021 |publisher=]}}</ref> A 2020 Lowy Institute article called Sri Lanka's Hambantota International Port the "case par excellence" for China's debt-trap diplomacy, but called the narrative a "myth" because the project was proposed by former Sri Lankan president ], not Beijing.<ref name="lowyinstitute.org2">{{Cite news |last=Hameiri |first=Shahar |date=9 September 2020 |title=Debunking the myth of China's "debt-trap diplomacy" |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/debunking-myth-china-s-debt-trap-diplomacy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505045022/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/debunking-myth-china-s-debt-trap-diplomacy |archive-date=5 May 2022 |access-date=12 April 2022 |work=The Interpreter |publisher=]}}</ref> The article added that Sri Lanka's debt distress was not caused by Chinese lending, but by "excessive borrowing on Western-dominated capital markets."<ref name="lowyinstitute.org2" /> | |||
Tanzanian President ] said the loan agreements of BRI projects in his country were "exploitative and awkward."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107234726/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/tanzania-president-terms-bri-port-project-exploitative/articleshow/70109612.cms |date=7 November 2020 }} (July 2019)</ref> He said Chinese financiers set "tough conditions that can only be accepted by mad people," because his government was asked to give them a guarantee of 33 years and an extensive lease of 99 years on a port construction. Magufuli said Chinese contractors wanted to take the land as their own but his government had to compensate them for drilling the project construction.<ref>{{Cite news|title=China is thinking twice about lending to Africa|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/06/29/china-is-thinking-twice-about-lending-to-africa|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=12 December 2020|archive-date=18 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218134328/https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/06/29/china-is-thinking-twice-about-lending-to-africa|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
The Rhodium Group, an American research company, analyzed Chinese ] and concluded that China's ] in them are often exaggerated and realistically limited in power. The findings of their study frequently showed an outcome in favor of the borrower rather than the supposedly predatory Chinese lender. The firm found that "] are a very rare occurrence" and that instead debt write-off was the most common outcome.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Data on the "Debt Trap" Question |url=https://rhg.com/research/new-data-on-the-debt-trap-question/ |access-date=18 December 2021 |website=Rhodium Group |date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=2 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502062558/https://rhg.com/research/new-data-on-the-debt-trap-question/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Indian commentator S. K. Chatterji considers debt traps an economic dimension of China's ].<ref name=terri1>{{cite news|first=S. K.|last=Chatterji|url=https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/wider-connotations-of-chinese-salami-slicing/|title=Wider connotations of Chinese 'salami slicing'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101114831/https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/wider-connotations-of-chinese-salami-slicing/|archive-date=1 November 2020|work=Asia Times|date=22 October 2020}}</ref> According to Chatterji, China's sovereignty slicing tactic dilutes the sovereignty of the target nations mainly using the debt trap. An example provided is Beijing pressuring Tajikistan to handover 1,158 km<sup>2</sup> territory, which still owes China US$1.2 billion out of a total US$2.9bn of debt. Other nations with a similar risk of sovereignty slicing are Pakistan, Madagascar, Mongolia, Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Sri Lanka, and Laos which have borrowed large sums from China.<ref name=terri1/> | |||
Darren Lim, senior lecturer at the ], said that the debt-trap diplomacy claim was never credible, despite the ] pushing it.<ref name="Needham 2019">{{Cite web |last=Needham |first=Kirsty |date=2 May 2019 |title=Data doesn't support Belt and Road debt trap claims |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/data-doesn-t-support-belt-and-road-debt-trap-claims-20190502-p51jhx.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502093557/https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/data-doesn-t-support-belt-and-road-debt-trap-claims-20190502-p51jhx.html |archive-date=2 May 2019 |access-date=18 December 2021 |website=]}}</ref> Dawn C. Murphy, Professor of International Security Studies at the ], concludes that describing China's behavior as "neocolonialist" is an "exaggeration and misrepresentation".<ref name="Murphy 2022" />{{Rp|page=158}} | |||
In May 2021, ]’s President ] called for a review of mining contracts signed with China by his predecessor ],<ref>{{cite news |title=DRC's Tshisekedi has secured his power base: now it's time to deliver |url=https://theconversation.com/drcs-tshisekedi-has-secured-his-power-base-now-its-time-to-deliver-170282 |work=] |date=27 October 2021}}</ref> in particular the Sicomines multibillion-dollar ].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Belt and Road Bubble Is Starting to Burst |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/27/the-belt-and-road-bubble-is-starting-to-burst/ |work=] |date=27 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Congo Reviews $6.2 Billion China Mining Deal as Criticism Grows |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-28/congo-reviews-6-2-billion-china-mining-deal-as-criticism-grows |work=Bloomberg |date=28 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=China Cash Flowed Through Congo Bank to Former President's Cronies |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-11-28/africa-s-biggest-data-leak-reveals-china-money-role-in-kabila-s-congo-looting |work=Bloomberg |date=28 November 2021}}</ref> | |||
China's plans to link its western Xinjiang province to Gwadar in the Balochistan province of Pakistan with its US$500 million investment in the ] has met resistance from local fishermen protesting against Chinese trawlers and ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/pakistan-detains-five-chinese-trawlers-for-alleged-fishing|title = Pakistan detains five Chinese trawlers for alleged illegal fishing|website = ]|date = 13 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/0bd3988d-96d6-47a2-8006-1810cd90c151|title=Pakistan seeks to calm protesters at Chinese Belt and Road port project|newspaper=Financial Times|date=19 December 2021|last1=Bokhari|first1=Farhan|last2=Parkin|first2=Benjamin}}</ref> | |||
According to political scientist and researcher Zhexin Zhang, the overwhelming enthusiasm of ] in the Belt and Road Initiative, as seen first in the "Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" held in May 2017, is sufficient to invalidate the neo-colonialism argument.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zhang |first=Zhexin |date=1 January 2018 |title=The Belt and Road Initiative: China's New Geopolitical Strategy? |journal=China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies |volume=04 |issue=3 |pages=327–343 |doi=10.1142/S2377740018500240 |issn=2377-7400 |doi-access=free}}</ref> | |||
==== Rebuttals ==== | |||
], a professor at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at ], described the debt-trap diplomacy theory as a "meme" that became popular due to "human negativity bias" based on anxiety about the rise of China.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=Brautigam|first=Deborah|date=2020-01-02|title=A critical look at Chinese 'debt-trap diplomacy': the rise of a meme|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828|journal=Area Development and Policy|volume=5|issue=1|pages=1–14|doi=10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828|s2cid=214547742|issn=2379-2949}}</ref> A 2019 research paper by Bräutigam revealed that most of the debtor countries voluntarily signed on to the loans and had positive experiences working with China, and "the evidence so far, including the Sri Lankan case, shows that the drumbeat of alarm about Chinese banks' funding of infrastructure across the BRI and beyond is overblown" and "a large number of people have favorable opinions of China as an economic model and consider China an attractive partner for their development."<ref name=":9" /> She said that the theory lacked evidence and criticized the media for promoting a narrative that "wrongfully misrepresents the relationship between China and the developing countries that it deals with".<ref name="Rithmire"> | |||
A March 2018 study released by the ], a ]-based think tank, remarks that between 2001 and 2017, China restructured or waived loan payments for 51 debtor nations, the majority of BRI participants, without seizing state assets.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Hurley |first1=John |title=Examining the Debt Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative from a Policy Perspective |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/examining-debt-implications-belt-and-road-initiative-policy-perspective.pdf |publisher=Center for Global Development |last2=Morris |first2=Scott |last3=Portelance |first3=Gailyn |access-date=19 December 2021 |archive-date=5 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505130731/https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/examining-debt-implications-belt-and-road-initiative-policy-perspective.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The study concluded that in most cases, it was unlikely that there would be severe problems with debt.<ref name="Garlick 2024" />{{Rp|page=87}} In September 2018, W. Gyude Moore, a former Liberian public works minister and senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, stated that "he language of "debt-trap diplomacy" resonates more in Western countries, especially the United States, and is rooted in anxiety about China's rise as a global power rather than in the reality of Africa."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=W. Gyude |date=17 September 2018 |title=The language of "debt-trap diplomacy" reflects Western anxieties, not African realities |url=https://qz.com/1391770/the-anxious-chorus-around-chinese-debt-trap-diplomacy-doesnt-reflect-african-realities/ |access-date=21 July 2021 |website=Quartz |archive-date=17 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917091924/https://qz.com/1391770/the-anxious-chorus-around-chinese-debt-trap-diplomacy-doesnt-reflect-african-realities/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He also stated that "China has been a net positive partner with most African countries."<ref>{{Cite news |title=China Offers Debt Relief, But Most African Countries Borrow Elsewhere |url=https://www.voanews.com/africa/china-offers-debt-relief-most-african-countries-borrow-elsewhere |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722000028/https://www.voanews.com/africa/china-offers-debt-relief-most-african-countries-borrow-elsewhere |archive-date=22 July 2021 |access-date=21 July 2021 |work=]}}</ref> According to Pradumna Bickram Rana and Jason Ji Xianbai of Singapore's ], although there is a number of implementation issues confronting the Belt and Road Initiative mostly due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, China's alleged debt-trap diplomacy "more myth than reality".<ref name="Rana 2020">{{Cite web |last1=Rana |first1=Pradumna Bickram |last2=Xianbai |first2=Jason Ji |date=4 November 2020 |title=BRI's 'Debt Trap Diplomacy': Reality or Myth? |url=https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/cms/bris-debt-trap-diplomacy-reality-or-myth/?doing_wp_cron=1639831204.9130430221557617187500 |website=] |page=3 |location=] |access-date=19 December 2021 |archive-date=18 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218130156/https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/cms/bris-debt-trap-diplomacy-reality-or-myth/?doing_wp_cron=1639831204.9130430221557617187500 |url-status=live }}</ref> While they acknowledge that various countries are facing difficulties in paying their debts to China, they highlight China's willingness to help these countries restructure their debt through forgiving policies, such as partial ].<ref name="Rana 2020" /> In eleven cases, China postponed loans for indebted countries, one being Tonga.<ref name="Needham 2019" /> | |||
{{Cite news |first1=Deborah |last1=Brautigam |first2=Meg |last2=Rithmire |title=The Chinese 'Debt Trap' Is a Myth |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/02/china-debt-trap-diplomacy/617953/ |newspaper=The Atlantic |date=6 February 2021}} | |||
</ref> A 2018 ] report, co-authored by Bräutigam, remarked that "Chinese loans are not currently a major contributor to debt distress in Africa."<ref> | |||
Writing in 2023, academic Süha Atatüre stated that United States opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative stems from the fact that it lacks the capacity to implement a rival project.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Atatüre |first=Süha |title=China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace |date=2023 |publisher=] |others=Mher Sahakyan |isbn=978-1-003-35258-7 |location=New York |chapter=The US and China as Main Powers in Multipolar World Order 2.0 |oclc=1353290533}}</ref>{{Rp|page=40}} | |||
{{Cite web |title=The Path Ahead: The 7th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation |url=http://www.sais-cari.org/s/Briefing-Paper-1-August-2018-Final.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=2021-07-25 |website=]}} | |||
</ref> | |||
Publishing in 2023, academic Austin Strange concludes that scholars have challenged the narrative of a Chinese debt-trap and that analysis of BRI projects does not substantiate the debt-trap narrative.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Strange |first=Austin |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781009090902/type/element |title=Chinese Global Infrastructure |date=2023-12-21 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-009-09090-2 |edition= |series=Elements in Global China |format=EPUB |doi=10.1017/9781009090902}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=15–16}} On the issue of criticism of the BRI more broadly, Strange writes that unintended negative consequences can result from global infrastructure projects generally (citing examples of issues arising from overseas projects by Japan and South Korea) and are not a BRI-specific or China-specific challenge.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|pages=58–59}} | |||
Academics Yan Hairong and ] stated in a 2024 study that the debt-trap narrative is incorrect, as China does not foreclose on borrower assets.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=223}} | |||
] Professor Keyu Jin writes that the claim that China leads borrowers into a debt trap is misleading.<ref name="Jin 2023">{{Cite book |last=Jin |first=Keyu |title=The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism |date=2023 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-1-9848-7828-1 |location=New York |author-link=Keyu Jin}}</ref>{{Rp|page=280}} Jin observes that the majority of BRI countries' debt is owed to international organizations or private institutions like hedge funds, rather than to China.<ref name="Jin 2023" />{{Rp|pages=280–281}} Jin also writes that China has written off many of its loans and also provided debt relief to borrowers.<ref name="Jin 2023" />{{Rp|page=281}} | |||
=== Country-specific === | |||
Through the BRI, China has a major role in infrastructure development in Cambodia.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Han |first=Enze |title=The Ripple Effect: China's Complex Presence in Southeast Asia |date=2024 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-769659-0 |location=New York, NY}}</ref>{{Rp|page=29}} In 2017, China financed approximately 70% of Cambodia's road and bridge development.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=29}} China built a major expressway between ] and ], which began operating in 2023.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=29}} As of at least 2024, the expressway is the largest BRI project in Cambodia.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=132}} | |||
Chinese leadership describes Ethiopia as a bridge between the Belt and Road Initiative and Africa's development, stating that the relationship between the two countries is a model of ] and "a pilot program for ] production capacity cooperation."<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Yan |first1=Hairong |last2=Sautman |first2=Barry |author-link2=Barry Sautman |date=2024 |title=China, Ethiopia and the Significance of the Belt and Road Initiative |journal=] |volume=257 |issue=257 |pages=222–247 |doi=10.1017/S0305741023000966 |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=222–223}} | |||
Greece hosts the most successful BRI port project as of at least 2024, the port at Piraeus.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=67}} The port's incorporation as part of the BRI has been one of the mechanisms through which China has strengthened ], following the increased strain in the European Union-Greece relationship after ].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=67}} | |||
As of at least 2024, Hungary and Serbia are also two of the major European supporters of the BRI.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Vasovic |first1=Aleksander |last2=Sito-sucic |first2=Daria |date=5 May 2024 |title=China's Xi Jinping to Visit Serbia on Anniversary of 1999 NATO Bombing |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/chinas-xi-jinping-visit-serbia-anniversary-1999-nato-bombing-2024-05-07/ |access-date=7 May 2024 |work=]}}</ref> | |||
Italy was the only G7 country which had been a partner in the development of the BRI, having been involved since March 2019, but in July 2023 declared its intention to quit the BRI.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Folkman |first=Varg |date=30 July 2023 |title=Italy intends to leave China's Belt and Road Initiative, defense minister says |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-leave-belt-and-road-initiative-china-minister-guido-crosetto/ |access-date=30 July 2023 |website=] |archive-date=30 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730135106/https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-leave-belt-and-road-initiative-china-minister-guido-crosetto/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Prime Minister ] stated that the project was not of any real benefit to Italy's economy.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Italy formally pulls out of China's Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://www.ft.com/content/946636dc-2fa1-4b2b-a83b-84478f804a83 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211092340/https://www.ft.com/content/946636dc-2fa1-4b2b-a83b-84478f804a83 |archive-date=11 December 2023 |access-date=11 December 2023 |website=]|date=6 December 2023 |last1=Kazmin |first1=Amy }}</ref> | |||
According to ]-based economist Anastasia Papadimitriou, partnering countries are equally responsible when making deals with China. China's alleged "neocolonialist intentions" can be disproved by ]'s ] project on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka, one of the most cited examples of "Debt-trap diplomacy".<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Papadimitriou|first=Anastasia|date=20 October 2019|title=China's Belt and Road Initiative: Is it Truly Neocolonialist?|url=https://www.theworldmind.org/home/2019/10/20/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-is-it-truly-neocolonialist|url-status=live|access-date=|website=World Mind –American University's undergraduate policy magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> After an analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative, Papadimitriou concludes that it is "not so much neocolonialism, rather it is ]".<ref name=":6" /> Additionally, ], a ]-based international affairs ], asserted that the debt crisis in Sri Lanka was unrelated to Chinese lending, but was instead caused mainly from "the misconduct of local elites and Western-dominated financial markets".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-19|title=Debunking the Myth of 'Debt-trap Diplomacy'|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/08/debunking-myth-debt-trap-diplomacy|access-date=2021-12-18|website=Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank|language=en}}</ref> | |||
The China-Laos Railway is one of the most sectorally integrated of the major BRI projects.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=129}} It has brought together expertise in large-scale engineering, finance, construction, and economic design.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=129}} The Boten-Ventiane Railway is the Laos section of the broader railway, which is in turn part of the China-Laos Economic Corridor.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=129}} The railway's high speed trains travel at 160 km per hour and have reduced travel time from ] to ] to two hours, down from a day or more before the railway.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=39}} | |||
The ''Rhodium Group'', an ] research company, analyzed Chinese ] and concluded that China's ] in them are often exaggerated and realistically limited in power. The findings of their study frequently showed an outcome in favor of the borrower rather than the supposedly predatory Chinese lender. The firm found that "] are a very rare occurrence" and that instead debt write-off was the most common outcome.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Data on the "Debt Trap" Question|url=https://rhg.com/research/new-data-on-the-debt-trap-question/|access-date=2021-12-18|website=Rhodium Group|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
Due to its opposition to the Gwadar Port City in Pakistan, in 2019 the ] targeted Chinese nationals in an attack at the ].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=60}} | |||
Darren Lim, senior lecturer at the ], said that the "debt-trap diplomacy" claim was never credible, despite the ] pushing it.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Needham|first=Kirsty|date=2019-05-02|title=Data doesn't support Belt and Road debt trap claims|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/data-doesn-t-support-belt-and-road-debt-trap-claims-20190502-p51jhx.html|access-date=2021-12-18|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref> | |||
During a November 2024 ] to Peru, Boluarte and Xi celebrated the opening of the Chancay port, which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative.<ref name=":04">{{Cite news |last1=Baptista |first1=Eduardo |last2=Aquino |first2=Marco |last3=Elliott |first3=Lucinda |date=15 November 2024 |title=Starting Latin America trip, Xi Jinping Opens Huge Port in Peru Funded by China |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/chinas-xi-arrives-lima-apec-open-pacific-megaport-2024-11-14/ |work=]}}</ref> Xi described the port as the beginning of a new maritime-land corridor between China and Latin America.<ref name=":04" /> The port was built by ].<ref name=":04" /> | |||
According to political scientist and researcher Zhexin Zhang, the overwhelming enthusiasm of ] in the Belt and Road Initiative, as seen first in the "]" held in May 2017, is sufficient enough to invalidate the neo-colonialism argument.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zhang|first=Zhexin|date=2018-01-01|title=The Belt and Road Initiative: China's New Geopolitical Strategy?|url=https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S2377740018500240|journal=China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies|volume=04|issue=3|pages=327–343|doi=10.1142/S2377740018500240|issn=2377-7400}}</ref> | |||
In Thailand, the public views BRI projects, particularly railways, positively.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|pages=34–35}} | |||
A March 2018 study released by the ], a ]-based think tank, remarks that between 2001 and 2017, China restructured or waived loan payments for 51 debtor nations, the majority of BRI participants, without seizing state assets.<ref>{{citation |first1=John |last1=Hurley |first2=Scott |last2=Morris |first3=Gailyn |last3=Portelance |title=Examining the Debt Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative from a Policy Perspective |publisher=Center for Global Development |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/examining-debt-implications-belt-and-road-initiative-policy-perspective.pdf}}</ref> In September 2018, W. Gyude Moore, a former ]n public works minister and senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, stated that "he language of “debt-trap diplomacy” resonates more in Western countries, especially the United States, and is rooted in anxiety about China's rise as a global power rather than in the reality of Africa."<ref> | |||
{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=W. Gyude |title=The language of "debt-trap diplomacy" reflects Western anxieties, not African realities |url=https://qz.com/1391770/the-anxious-chorus-around-chinese-debt-trap-diplomacy-doesnt-reflect-african-realities/ |access-date=2021-07-21 |website=Quartz}} | |||
</ref> He also stated that "China has been a net positive partner with most African countries.”<ref>{{Cite news |title=China Offers Debt Relief, But Most African Countries Borrow Elsewhere |newspaper=Voice of America |url=https://www.voanews.com/africa/china-offers-debt-relief-most-african-countries-borrow-elsewhere |access-date=21 July 2021}}</ref> | |||
== Belt and Road educational policy == | |||
According to Pradumna Bickram Rana and Jason Ji Xianbai of ]'s ], although there is a number of implementation issues confronting the Belt and Road Initiative mostly due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, China's alleged debt-trap diplomacy "more myth than reality".<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last1=Rana|first1=Pradumna Bickram|last2=Xianbai|first2=Jason Ji|date=4 November 2020|title=BRI's 'Debt Trap Diplomacy': Reality or Myth?|url=https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/cms/bris-debt-trap-diplomacy-reality-or-myth/?doing_wp_cron=1639831204.9130430221557617187500|url-status=live|access-date=|website=]|location=]|page=3|language=en-US}}</ref> While they acknowledge that various countries are facing difficulties in paying their debts to China, they highlight China's willingness to help these countries restructure their debt through forgiving policies, such as partial ].<ref name=":8" /> In eleven cases, China postponed loans for indebted countries, one being ].<ref name=":2" /> | |||
Along with policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade and financial integration, people-to-people bonds are among the five major goals of BRI.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 March 2015 |title=Vision And Actions On Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt And 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road |url=https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/qwfb/1084.htm |access-date=15 February 2021 |website=Belt and Road portal |archive-date=5 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505121538/https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/qwfb/1084.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> BRI educational component implies mutual recognition of qualifications, academic mobility and student exchanges, coordination on education policy, life-long learning, and development of joint study programmes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 October 2017 |title=Education Action Plan for the Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/zchj/qwfb/30277.htm |access-date=15 February 2021 |website=Belt and Road portal |archive-date=5 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505014220/https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/zchj/qwfb/30277.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Leskina |first1=Natalia |last2=Sabzalieva |first2=Emma |date=4 January 2021 |title=Constructing a Eurasian higher education region: "Points of correspondence" between Russia's Eurasian Economic Union and China's Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2020.1866997 |journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics |volume=62 |issue=5–6 |pages=716–744 |doi=10.1080/15387216.2020.1866997 |issn=1538-7216 |s2cid=234122770 |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-date=29 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529130920/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15387216.2020.1866997 |url-status=live }}</ref> To this end, Xi Jinping announced plan to allocate funds for additional 30,000 scholarships for SCO citizens and 10,000 scholarships for the students and teachers along the Road.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Xi proposes a 'new Silk Road' with Central Asia |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013xivisitcenterasia/2013-09/08/content_16952228.htm |access-date=15 February 2021 |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331114402/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013xivisitcenterasia/2013-09/08/content_16952228.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Silk Road Scholarship is part of China's broader agenda of increasing academic and cultural cooperation with BRI-participating countries.<ref name=":Sun" />{{Rp|page=158}} | |||
Among the BRI cooperation priorities is also strengthening people-to-people ties through academic mobility, research cooperation, and student exchanges.<ref name="Richter 2020">{{Cite journal |last=Richter |first=Eva L |date=1 September 2020 |title=Economic Development through Migration: Facilitating Skilled Migration to China through the Belt and Road Initiative |url=https://academic.oup.com/cjcl/article/8/2/331/5896818 |journal=The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=331–350 |doi=10.1093/cjcl/cxaa021 |issn=2050-4802 |access-date=12 February 2022 |archive-date=10 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210113935/https://academic.oup.com/cjcl/article/8/2/331/5896818 |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the beginning of the BRI, China has occupied a key role in shaping how academic, and skilled migration in general, develops along the BRI and increased efforts to attract and retain foreign talents.<ref name="Richter 2020" /> | |||
== Belt and Road educational community == | |||
Along with policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade and financial integration, people-to-people bonds are among the five major goals of BRI.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=30 March 2015|title=Vision And Actions On Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt And 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road|url=https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/qwfb/1084.htm|access-date=15 February 2021|website=Belt and Road portal}}</ref> BRI educational component implies mutual recognition of qualifications, academic mobility and student exchanges, coordination on education policy, life-long learning, and development of joint study programmes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=12 October 2017|title=Education Action Plan for the Belt and Road Initiative|url=https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/zchj/qwfb/30277.htm|access-date=15 February 2021|website=Belt and Road portal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Leskina|first1=Natalia|last2=Sabzalieva|first2=Emma|date=2021-01-04|title=Constructing a Eurasian higher education region: "Points of correspondence" between Russia's Eurasian Economic Union and China's Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2020.1866997|journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics|volume=62|issue=5–6|pages=716–744|doi=10.1080/15387216.2020.1866997|s2cid=234122770|issn=1538-7216}}</ref> To this end, Xi Jinping announced plan to allocate funds for additional 30000 scholarships for SCO citizens and 10000 scholarships for the students and teachers along the Road.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Xi proposes a 'new Silk Road' with Central Asia|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013xivisitcenterasia/2013-09/08/content_16952228.htm|access-date=2021-02-15|website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref> Among the BRI cooperation priorities is also strengthening people-to-people ties through academic mobility, research cooperation, and student exchanges.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Richter|first=Eva L|date=2020-09-01|title=Economic Development through Migration: Facilitating Skilled Migration to China through the Belt and Road Initiative|url=https://academic.oup.com/cjcl/article/8/2/331/5896818|journal=The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law|language=en|volume=8|issue=2|pages=331–350|doi=10.1093/cjcl/cxaa021|issn=2050-4802}}</ref> Since the beginning of the BRI, China has occupied a key role in shaping how academic, and skilled migration in general, develops along the BRI and increased efforts to attract and retain foreign talents.<ref name=":7" /> | |||
The ] centered at ] aims to support the Belt and Road initiative with research and engineering |
The ] centered at ] aims to support the Belt and Road initiative with research and engineering.<ref name="UWN">{{Cite web |last=Yojana |first=Sharma |date=12 June 2015 |title=University collaboration takes the Silk Road route |url=http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150611130705830 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819131122/http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150611130705830 |archive-date=19 August 2016 |access-date=18 September 2016 |publisher=University World News}}</ref> A French think tank, Fondation France Chine (France-China Foundation), focused on the study of the New Silk Roads, was launched in 2018. It is described as pro–Belt and Road Initiative and pro-China.<ref name="AutoLT-38">{{Cite web |title=OFNRS – Observer, analyser et conseiller |url=https://observatoirenrs.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630123440/https://observatoirenrs.com/ |archive-date=30 June 2019 |access-date=30 December 2019 |website=OFNRS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 August 2019 |title=Follow the New Silk Road: China's growing trail of think tanks and lobbyists in Europe |url=https://corporateeurope.org/en/2019/04/follow-new-silk-road-chinas-growing-trail-think-tanks-and-lobbyists-europe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107230133/https://corporateeurope.org/en/2019/04/follow-new-silk-road-chinas-growing-trail-think-tanks-and-lobbyists-europe |archive-date=7 November 2020 |access-date=14 September 2020 |website=Corporate Europe Observatory}}</ref> | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
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* ]{{snd}}counter-initiative by the United States | * ]{{snd}}counter-initiative by the United States | ||
* ]{{snd}}counter-initiative by the ] | * ]{{snd}}counter-initiative by the ] | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
*] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | * ] | ||
* Southern Ocean{{snd}}See ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | ** ]s | ||
** ]{{snd}}] | |||
* ] | |||
** ]{{Div col end}} | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
** ] | ** ] | ||
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* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
* Southern Ocean{{snd}}See ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
** ]{{snd}}] | |||
{{Div col end}} | |||
== Notes == | |||
{{notelist}} | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{Reflist |
{{Reflist}} | ||
<ref name="Blue Dot network">{{cite web|title=Explained: What is the Blue Dot network, on the table during Trump visit to India|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-the-blue-dot-network-on-the-table-during-trump-visit-to-india-6286524/|date=February 26, 2020|publisher=Indian Express|access-date=February 28, 2020|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226153240/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-the-blue-dot-network-on-the-table-during-trump-visit-to-india-6286524/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="ndrc_751695">{{cite web |script-title=zh:我委等有关部门规范"一带一路"倡议英文译法|title=Wǒ wěi děng yǒuguān bùmén guīfàn "Yīdài Yīlù" chàngyì Yīngwén yì fǎ|trans-title= Regulations on the English translation of "Belt and Road" Initiative by our Commission and related departments| | |||
url=http://www.ndrc.gov.cn/gzdt/201509/t20150921_751695.html |website=ndrc.gov.cn |publisher=National Development and Reform Commission |language=zh-cn |access-date=7 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511191431/http://www.ndrc.gov.cn/gzdt/201509/t20150921_751695.html |archive-date=11 May 2019 |date=11 May 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-1">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative|title=Belt and Road Initiative|publisher=World Bank|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015644/http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative|archive-date=19 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.beltandroadforum2019.com/conference-profile/overview/|title=Overview – Belt and Road Initiative Forum 2019|access-date=30 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917091133/http://www.beltandroadforum2019.com/conference-profile/overview/|archive-date=17 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=4 June 2020|title=The pandemic is hurting China's Belt and Road Initiative|newspaper=]|url=https://www.economist.com/china/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-hurting-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative|access-date=14 June 2020|issn=0013-0613|archive-date=19 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219175603/https://www.economist.com/china/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-hurting-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="pr_780645">{{cite web|url=https://www.pr.com/press-release/780645|title=CrowdReviews Partnered with Strategic Marketing & Exhibitions to Announce: One Belt, One Road Forum|date=25 March 2019|website=PR.com|access-date=30 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430071306/https://www.pr.com/press-release/780645|archive-date=30 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="xinhua-chronology">{{cite news|title=Chronology of China's Belt and Road Initiative|url=http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0624/c90883-9077342.html|work=People's Daily|agency=Xinhua News Agency|date=24 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625125458/http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0624/c90883-9077342.html|archive-date=25 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-3">{{cite web |last1=Qian |first1=Gang (钱钢) |url=http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3gj_W8D7dAecOH73gsRxoA |script-title=zh:钱钢语象报告:党媒关键词温度测试 |publisher=] |date=23 February 2017 |language=zh-cn |title=<!--ACTUAL ARTICLE TITLE BELONGS HERE! original text: Archived copy--> |access-date=2 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227213916/https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3gj_W8D7dAecOH73gsRxoA |archive-date=27 February 2019 |url-status=live}}<!--微信公众号"尽知天下事"--> {{Dead link|date=November 2020}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="uniview">{{cite web |title=News—Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co., Ltd. |url=http://en.uniview.com/News/News/201809/804999_169683_0.htm |website=en.uniview.com |access-date=11 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511095521/http://en.uniview.com/News/News/201809/804999_169683_0.htm |archive-date=11 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="World Bank blog">{{cite news|first1=Nicolas|last1=] Firzli|title=World Pensions Council: Pension Investment in Infrastructure Debt: A New Source of Capital|url=http://blogs.worldbank.org/ppps/pension-investment-infrastructure-debt-new-source-capital-project-finance/|access-date=13 May 2017|work=World Bank blog|date=February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606060630/https://blogs.worldbank.org/ppps/pension-investment-infrastructure-debt-new-source-capital-project-finance|archive-date=6 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="Analyse Financière">{{cite news |first1=M. Nicolas J. |last1=] Firzli |title=China's Asian Infrastructure Bank and the 'New Great Game' |url=https://www.academia.edu/19535167 |access-date=5 February 2016 |work=Analyse Financière |date=October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129073111/http://www.academia.edu/19535167/China_s_AIIB_America_s_Pivot_to_Asia_and_the_Geopolitics_of_Infrastructure_Investments |archive-date=29 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-4">{{Cite news|title=Belt and Road in Big Data 2016|last=General Office of Leading Group of Advancing the Building of the Belt and Road Initiative|year=2016|work=Beijing: the Commercial Press}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="time_4776845">{{cite news|url=http://time.com/4776845/china-xi-jinping-belt-road-initiative-obor/|title=What to Know About China's Belt and Road Initiative Summit|magazine=Time|access-date=30 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128230549/http://time.com/4776845/china-xi-jinping-belt-road-initiative-obor/|archive-date=28 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="cnn_20170511_asia">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/asia/china-one-belt-one-road-explainer/index.html|title=Just what is this One Belt, One Road thing anyway?|first=James |last=Griffiths|publisher=CNN|access-date=30 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130145534/https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/asia/china-one-belt-one-road-explainer/index.html|archive-date=30 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-5">Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018).</ref> | |||
<ref name="dhakatribune_20171031_one">{{cite web|date=3 October 2017|title=What One Belt One Road means for Bangladesh|url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/2017/10/31/one-belt-one-road-means-bangladesh/|access-date=14 June 2020|website=Dhaka Tribune|archive-date=12 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612211711/https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/2017/10/31/one-belt-one-road-means-bangladesh/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-6">Bernhard Simon: Can The New Silk Road Compete With The Maritime Silk Road? in The Maritime Executive, 1 January 2020.</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-7">Christoph He"Wie Amerika Chinas Neue Seidenstraße kontern will" ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', 11 November 2019.</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-8">Harry de Wilt: Is One Belt, One Road a China crisis for North Sea main ports? in World Cargo News, 17 December 2019.</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-9">"Global shipping and logistic chain reshaped as China's Belt and Road dreams take off" in Hellenic Shipping News, 4 December 2018.</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-10">Guido Santevecchi: Di Maio e la Via della Seta: «Faremo i conti nel 2020», siglato accordo su Trieste in Corriere della Sera, 5 November 2019.</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-11">"Triest – Ein Welthafen für Bayern" ''Bayrische Staatszeitung'', 30 November 2018.</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-12">Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018), p 112.</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-13">Andrew Wheeler: How Trieste could become the Singapore of the Adriatic in Asia Shipping Media – Splash247, 19 February 2019.</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-14">Ethan Masood: How China is redrawing the map of world science. ''Nature''. Band 569, Number 7754, May 2019, p 20–23</ref> | |||
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<ref name="AutoLT-17">Based on {{lang|zh-Hant|《一帶一路規劃藍圖》}} in ''Nanfang Daily''</ref> | |||
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<ref name="aiib_20190116">{{cite web|url=https://www.aiib.org/en/news-events/news/2019/20190116_001.html|title=AIIB Turns 3, Reflects on Startup Growth – News – AIIB|website=aiib.org|access-date=16 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117013334/https://www.aiib.org/en/news-events/news/2019/20190116_001.html|archive-date=17 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-28">{{cite web|title = Commentary: Silk Road Fund's 1st investment makes China's words into practice|url=http://english.gov.cn/news/top_news/2015/04/21/content_281475093213830.htm|website = english.gov.cn|access-date = 15 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715185219/http://english.gov.cn/news/top_news/2015/04/21/content_281475093213830.htm|archive-date = 15 July 2015|url-status = live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="archive_001071181">Peter Wells, Don Weinland, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303050530/http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001071181 |date=3 March 2017}}, ''Financial Times'', 26 January 2017</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-29">{{Cite journal|last1=Lai|first1=Karen P. Y.|last2=Lin|first2=Shaun|last3=Sidaway|first3=James D.|date=3 March 2020|title=Financing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): research agendas beyond the "debt-trap" discourse|journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics|language=en|volume=61|issue=2|pages=109–124|doi=10.1080/15387216.2020.1726787|s2cid=213846545|issn=1538-7216|url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/33795/1/33795.pdf}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="asiatimes_20190425">{{Cite web|url=https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/04/opinion/bri-transforming-world-economic-order/|title=BRI transforming world economic order?|website=Asia Times Online|date=25 April 2019|access-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823144059/https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/04/opinion/bri-transforming-world-economic-order/|archive-date=23 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-30">{{Cite journal|last=Chan|first=Irene|date=September 2019|title=Reversing China's Belt-and-Road Initiative—Singapore's Response to the BRI and Its Quest for Relevance|journal=East Asia|language=en|volume=36|issue=3|pages=185–204|doi=10.1007/s12140-019-09317-7|s2cid=203492432|issn=1096-6838}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-31">{{Cite journal|last=De Castro|first=Renato Cruz|date=21 August 2019|title=China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Duterte Administration's Appeasement Policy: Examining the Connection Between the Two National Strategies|journal=East Asia|language=en|volume=36|issue=3|pages=205–227|doi=10.1007/s12140-019-09315-9|s2cid=202316018|issn=1096-6838}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="africatimes_20190418_china">{{Cite web|url=https://africatimes.com/2019/04/18/china-notes-africas-key-bri-role-ahead-of-forum-in-beijing/|title=China notes Africa's key BRI role ahead of forum in Beijing|date=18 April 2019|website=Africa Times|access-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623105451/https://africatimes.com/2019/04/18/china-notes-africas-key-bri-role-ahead-of-forum-in-beijing/|archive-date=23 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
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<ref name="AutoLT-32">{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/04/advancing-democracy-in-the-us-free-and-open-indo-pacific-strategy/|title=Advancing Democracy in the US Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy|last=Diplomat|first=Prashanth Parameswaran, The|website=The Diplomat|access-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425155943/https://thediplomat.com/2019/04/advancing-democracy-in-the-us-free-and-open-indo-pacific-strategy/|archive-date=25 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
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<ref name="hindustantimes_20160422">{{cite web |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/cpec-route-through-kashmir-could-create-tension-with-india-un-report/story-05fDgjtdFmATT6K13ZJffN.html |title=CPEC route through Kashmir could create tension with India: UN report |work=Hindustan Times |date=22 April 2016 |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511024457/https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/cpec-route-through-kashmir-could-create-tension-with-india-un-report/story-05fDgjtdFmATT6K13ZJffN.html |archive-date=11 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="dmav">{{cite web |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-02-21-iss-today-lessons-from-sri-lanka-on-chinas-debt-trap-diplomacy/ |title=ISS Today: Lessons from Sri Lanka on China's 'debt-trap diplomacy' |last=Today |first=ISS |date=21 February 2018 |website=Daily Maverick |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915231046/https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-02-21-iss-today-lessons-from-sri-lanka-on-chinas-debt-trap-diplomacy/ |archive-date=15 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="blan-revisit">{{cite news |last1=Blanchard |first1=Jean-Marc F. |title=Revisiting the Resurrected Debate About Chinese Neocolonialism |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/revisiting-the-resurrected-debate-about-chinese-neocolonialism/ |work=The Diplomat |date=8 February 2018 |access-date=23 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123195340/https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/revisiting-the-resurrected-debate-about-chinese-neocolonialism/ |archive-date=23 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-33">{{Cite journal|last1=Di Lan|first1=Ngo|last2=Vu|first2=Truong-Minh|date=September 2019|title=The Sino-US-Vietnam Triangle in a Belt and Road Era|journal=East Asia|language=en|volume=36|issue=3|pages=229–241|doi=10.1007/s12140-019-09318-6|s2cid=211091110|issn=1096-6838}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-34">{{Cite journal|last=Hwang|first=Balbina Y.|date=26 June 2019|title=Northeast Asian Perspectives on China's Belt Road Initiative: the View from South Korea|journal=East Asia|language=en|volume=36|issue=2|pages=129–150|doi=10.1007/s12140-019-09310-0|s2cid=198492001|issn=1096-6838}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-35">{{Cite web|url=https://www.european-views.com/2019/09/japan-and-the-eu-sign-infrastructure-deal-to-rival-chinas-belt-and-road/|title=Japan and the EU sign infrastructure deal to rival China's Belt and Road|last=Eva|first=Joanna|date=30 September 2019|website=European Views|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102061341/https://www.european-views.com/2019/09/japan-and-the-eu-sign-infrastructure-deal-to-rival-chinas-belt-and-road/|archive-date=2 January 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="co_20190928_business">{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/09/28/business/japan-eu-vow-infrastructure-cooperation-counter-china/|title=Japan and EU ink infrastructure cooperation pact in counter to China's Belt and Road|date=28 September 2019|work=The Japan Times|access-date=2 January 2020|issn=0447-5763|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102061339/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/09/28/business/japan-eu-vow-infrastructure-cooperation-counter-china/|archive-date=2 January 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-36">{{Cite web|year=2014|title=Memorandum of Understanding between the state of Victoria in Australia and the People's Republic of China|url=https://www.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-02/Belt-and-Road-Initiative-MOU.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200601023828/https://www.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-02/Belt-and-Road-Initiative-MOU.pdf|archive-date=1 June 2020|access-date=19 June 2020}}</ref> | |||
<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Josh|date=2 May 2020|title=China's belt and road initiative: what is it and why is Victoria under fire for its involvement?|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-what-is-it-and-why-is-victoria-under-fire-for-its-involvement|access-date=20 June 2020|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=20 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620221702/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-what-is-it-and-why-is-victoria-under-fire-for-its-involvement|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-37">{{Cite web|title=Turnbull plays down Belt and Road fears|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/turnbull-plays-down-belt-and-road-fears|access-date=20 June 2020|website=SBS News|language=en|archive-date=20 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620084750/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/turnbull-plays-down-belt-and-road-fears|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="China Daily">{{cite news | last = Ma | first = Lie | title = University alliance seeks enhanced education co-op along Silk Road |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-04/11/content_24446327.htm | newspaper = ] | date = 11 April 2016 | access-date = 18 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918160548/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-04/11/content_24446327.htm | archive-date = 18 September 2016 | url-status = live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="UWN">{{cite web |last=Yojana |first=Sharma |title=University collaboration takes the Silk Road route |url=http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150611130705830 |publisher = University World News |date = 12 June 2015 |access-date = 18 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819131122/http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150611130705830 |archive-date=19 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="AutoLT-38">{{Cite web |url=https://observatoirenrs.com/ |title=OFNRS – Observer, analyser et conseiller |website=OFNRS |access-date=30 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630123440/https://observatoirenrs.com/ |archive-date=30 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="comp2">Compare: {{cite web |url=http://www.ejinsight.com/20160412-getting-lost-one-belt-one-road/ |title= Getting lost in 'One Belt, One Road' |date= 12 April 2016 |work=Hong Kong Economic Journal |access-date=13 April 2016 |quote=Simply put, China is trying to buy friendship and political influence by investing massive amounts of money on infrastructure in countries along the 'One Belt, One Road'. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414014511/http://www.ejinsight.com/20160412-getting-lost-one-belt-one-road/ |archive-date=14 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="comp1">Compare: {{citation | ssrn= 2997650 | title= What Is One Belt One Road? A Surplus Recycling Mechanism Approach | date= 7 July 2017 | quote = It has been lauded as a visionary project among key participants such as China and Pakistan, but has received a critical reaction, arguably a poorly thought out one, in nonparticipant countries such as the United States and India (see various discussions in Ferdinand 2016, Kennedy and Parker 2015, Godement and Kratz, 2015, Li 2015, Rolland 2015, Swaine 2015). | last1= Chohan | first1= Usman W.}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="what">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2018/jul/30/what-china-belt-road-initiative-silk-road-explainer |title=What is China's Belt and Road Initiative?|first1=Lily|last1=Kuo|first2=Niko|last2=Kommenda |website=The Guardian |access-date=5 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905062336/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2018/jul/30/what-china-belt-road-initiative-silk-road-explainer |archive-date=5 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
<ref name="centralGovernment">{{cite web |title = China unveils action plan on Belt and Road Initiative |agency = ] |url=http://english.gov.cn/news/top_news/2015/03/28/content_281475079055789.htm |website = Gov.cn |date = 28 March 2015 |access-date = 16 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417024034/http://english.gov.cn/news/top_news/2015/03/28/content_281475079055789.htm |archive-date = 17 April 2018 |url-status = live}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
{{Library resources box}} | {{Library resources box}} | ||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11366-020-09717-0|title=Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Blues: Powering BRI Research Back on Track to Avoid Choppy Seas|year=2021|last1=Blanchard|first1=Jean-Marc F.|journal=Journal of Chinese Political Science|volume=26|pages=235–255|s2cid=230718702|doi-access=free}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Blanchard |first=Jean-Marc F. |year=2021 |title=Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Blues: Powering BRI Research Back on Track to Avoid Choppy Seas |journal=Journal of Chinese Political Science |volume=26 |pages=235–255 |doi=10.1007/s11366-020-09717-0 |s2cid=230718702 |doi-access=free}} | |||
* Cai, Peter. ''Understanding China's belt and road initiative'' (Lowy Institute 2017) . | |||
* Cai, Peter. ''Understanding China's belt and road initiative'' (Lowy Institute 2017) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818033131/https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/6810/Understanding_Chinas_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_WEB_1.pdf?sequence=1 |date=18 August 2021 }}. | |||
* Calabrese, L. (2019): . London: Overseas Development Institute. | * Calabrese, L. (2019): . London: Overseas Development Institute. | ||
* Calabrese, L. (2019): . London: Overseas Development Institute. | * Calabrese, L. (2019): . London: Overseas Development Institute. | ||
* Chansok, L. (2019): The Belt and Road Initiative and Cambodia's Infrastructure Connectivity Development: A Cambodian Perspective. Cheung FM and Hong Y-Y (eds) ''Regional Connection under the Belt'' ''and Road Initiative. The prospects for Economic and Financial Cooperation''. London: Routledge, pp. 134–163. | * Chansok, L. (2019): The Belt and Road Initiative and Cambodia's Infrastructure Connectivity Development: A Cambodian Perspective. Cheung FM and Hong Y-Y (eds) ''Regional Connection under the Belt'' ''and Road Initiative. The prospects for Economic and Financial Cooperation''. London: Routledge, pp. 134–163. | ||
* Chen, Yaowen, et al. "Does the Connectivity of the Belt and Road Initiative Contribute to the Economic Growth of the Belt and Road Countries?." ''Emerging Markets Finance and Trade'' 55.14 (2019): 3227–3240. | * Chen, Yaowen, et al. "Does the Connectivity of the Belt and Road Initiative Contribute to the Economic Growth of the Belt and Road Countries?." ''Emerging Markets Finance and Trade'' 55.14 (2019): 3227–3240. | ||
* {{ |
* {{Cite journal |last=Contessi |first=Nicola P. |year=2016 |title=Central Asia in Asia: Charting Growing Transregional Linkages |journal=] |volume=7 |pages=3–13 |doi=10.1016/j.euras.2015.11.001 |doi-access=free}} | ||
* {{ |
* {{Cite journal |last=Chaudhuri (周士理) |first=Debasish |year=2018 |title=Book Review: Revitalising the Silk Road—China's Belt and Road Initiative by Richard T. Griffiths |journal=China Report |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=248–251 |doi=10.1177/0009445518761158 |s2cid=220052430}} online review. | ||
* He, Baogang. "Chinese expanded perceptions of the region and its changing attitudes toward the Indo-Pacific: A hybrid vision of the institutionalization of the Indo-Pacific." ''East Asia'' 35.2 (2018): 117–132. | * He, Baogang. "Chinese expanded perceptions of the region and its changing attitudes toward the Indo-Pacific: A hybrid vision of the institutionalization of the Indo-Pacific." ''East Asia'' 35.2 (2018): 117–132. | ||
* Ito, Asei. "China's Belt and Road Initiative and Japan's Response: from Non-participation to Conditional Engagement." ''East Asia'' 36.2 (2019): 115–128. | * Ito, Asei. "China's Belt and Road Initiative and Japan's Response: from Non-participation to Conditional Engagement." ''East Asia'' 36.2 (2019): 115–128. | ||
*{{ |
*{{Cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Lee |last2=Zeng |first2=Jinghan |year=2019 |title=Understanding China's 'Belt and Road Initiative': Beyond 'grand strategy' to a state transformation analysis |journal=Third World Quarterly |volume=40 |issue=8 |pages=1415–1439 |doi=10.1080/01436597.2018.1559046 |s2cid=159210202|url=https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/55868 }} | ||
* Kohli, Harinder S., Johannes F. Linn, and Leo M. Zucker, eds. ''China's Belt and Road Initiative: Potential Transformation of Central Asia and the South Caucasus'' (Sage, 2019). | * Kohli, Harinder S., Johannes F. Linn, and Leo M. Zucker, eds. ''China's Belt and Road Initiative: Potential Transformation of Central Asia and the South Caucasus'' (Sage, 2019). | ||
* Lai, Karen P.Y., Shaun Lin and James D. Sidaway. "Financing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Research agendas beyond the |
* Lai, Karen P.Y., Shaun Lin and James D. Sidaway. "Financing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Research agendas beyond the "debt-trap" discourse." ''Eurasian Geography and Economics''61.2 (2020): 109–124. | ||
* {{ |
* {{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Hong |last2=Lim |first2=Guanie |year=2019 |title=The Political Economy of a Rising China in Southeast Asia: Malaysia's Response to the Belt and Road Initiative |journal=Journal of Contemporary China |volume=28 |issue=116 |pages=216–231 |doi=10.1080/10670564.2018.1511393 |s2cid=158773685 |doi-access=free|hdl=10220/46634 |hdl-access=free }} | ||
* Lin, Shaun and Carl Grundy-Warr. "Navigating Sino-Thai |
* Lin, Shaun and Carl Grundy-Warr. "Navigating Sino-Thai 'rocky' bilateral ties: The geopolitics of riverine trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion." Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 38.5 (2020): 826–833. | ||
*Lin, Shaun, Naoko Shimazu and James D. Sidaway. "Theorising from the Belt and Road Initiative (一带一路)." ''Asia Pacific Viewpoint'' |
* | ||
* Lin, Shaun, James D. Sidaway and Woon Chih Yuan. "Reordering China, respacing the world: Belt and Road Initiative (一带一路) as an emergent geopolitical culture." ''The Professional Geographer'' 71.3 (2019): 507–522. | * Lin, Shaun, James D. Sidaway and Woon Chih Yuan. "Reordering China, respacing the world: Belt and Road Initiative (一带一路) as an emergent geopolitical culture." ''The Professional Geographer'' 71.3 (2019): 507–522. | ||
* {{ |
* {{Cite journal |last1=Mark |first1=Siusue |last2=Overland |first2=Indra |last3=Vakulchuk |first3=Roman |year=2020 |title=Sharing the Spoils: Winners and Losers in the Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar |journal=Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=381–404 |doi=10.1177/1868103420962116 |s2cid=227179618 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11250/2689628}} | ||
*Park, Albert. Which Countries Have Benefited the Most from China's Belt and Road Initiative?. (No. 2019-32. HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies, 2019) . | *Park, Albert. Which Countries Have Benefited the Most from China's Belt and Road Initiative?. (No. 2019-32. HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies, 2019) . | ||
* Scissors, Derek. "The Belt and Road is Overhyped, Commercially." ''AEI Paper & Studies'' (American Enterprise Institute, 2019) | * Scissors, Derek. "The Belt and Road is Overhyped, Commercially." ''AEI Paper & Studies'' (], 2019) | ||
* {{ |
* {{Cite journal |last=Shah |first=Abdur Rehman |year=2019 |title=China's Belt and Road Initiative |journal=Asian Survey |volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=407–428 |doi=10.1525/as.2019.59.3.407 |s2cid=197792826|doi-access=free }} | ||
* {{ |
* {{Cite journal |last1=Sidaway |first1=James D. |last2=Rowedder |first2=Simon C. |last3=Woon |first3=Chih Yuan |last4=Lin |first4=Weiqiang |last5=Pholsena |first5=Vatthana |year=2020 |title=Introduction: Research agendas raised by the Belt and Road Initiative |journal=Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=795–802 |doi=10.1177/2399654420911410 |s2cid=220987313}} | ||
*Sidaway, James D. and Chih Yuan Woon. "Chinese narratives on |
*Sidaway, James D. and Chih Yuan Woon. "Chinese narratives on "One Belt, One Road" (一带一路) in geopolitical and imperial contexts." The Professional Geographer 69.4 (2017) 591-603. | ||
*, 14 July 2022 | |||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1093/fpa/orab002|title=China's "Major Country Diplomacy": Legitimation and Foreign Policy Change|year=2021|last1=Smith|first1=Stephen N.|journal=Foreign Policy Analysis|volume=17|issue=2}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Stephen N. |year=2021 |title=China's "Major Country Diplomacy": Legitimation and Foreign Policy Change |journal=Foreign Policy Analysis |volume=17 |issue=2 |doi=10.1093/fpa/orab002}} | |||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1086/706743|title=The Unintended Consequences of Politicization of the Belt and Road's China-Europe Freight Train Initiative|year=2020|last1=Tjia|first1=Yin-nor Linda|journal=The China Journal|volume=83|pages=58–78|s2cid=213765633}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Tjia |first=Yin-nor Linda |year=2020 |title=The Unintended Consequences of Politicization of the Belt and Road's China-Europe Freight Train Initiative |journal=The China Journal |volume=83 |pages=58–78 |doi=10.1086/706743 |s2cid=213765633}} | |||
* {{cite book |doi=10.4324/9780429467172-5 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329310641|chapter=China's Belt and Road Initiative through the lens of Central Asia|title=Regional Connection under the Belt and Road Initiative|year=2018|last1=Vakulchuk|first1=Roman|last2=Overland|first2=Indra|pages=115–133|isbn=9780429467172|s2cid=189990559|url=http://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/27521/1/9780429467172_oachapter5.pdf}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last1=Vakulchuk |first1=Roman |url=http://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/27521/1/9780429467172_oachapter5.pdf |title=Regional Connection under the Belt and Road Initiative |last2=Overland |first2=Indra |year=2018 |isbn=9780429467172 |pages=115–133 |chapter=China's Belt and Road Initiative through the lens of Central Asia |doi=10.4324/9780429467172-5 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329310641 |s2cid=189990559}} | |||
*Wahlquist, Hakan. "Albert Herrmann: A missing link in establishing the Silk Road as a concept for Trans-Eurasian networks of trade” Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 38.5 (2020): 803–808. | |||
*Wahlquist, Hakan. "Albert Herrmann: A missing link in establishing the Silk Road as a concept for Trans-Eurasian networks of trade" Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 38.5 (2020): 803–808. | |||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1080/14650045.2020.1718656|title=Geocultural Power: China's Belt and Road Initiative|year=2020|last1=Winter|first1=Tim|journal=Geopolitics|volume=26|issue=5|pages=1376–1399|s2cid=213814993}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Winter |first=Tim |year=2020 |title=Geocultural Power: China's Belt and Road Initiative |journal=Geopolitics |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=1376–1399 |doi=10.1080/14650045.2020.1718656 |s2cid=213814993}} | |||
* ] policy paper: , Dow Jones Financial News, 12 October 2015. | * ] policy paper: , Dow Jones Financial News, 12 October 2015. | ||
* , 13 May 2017. | * , 13 May 2017. | ||
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Revision as of 10:53, 31 December 2024
Chinese global infrastructure project
Belt and Road Initiative and participant country map | |
Abbreviation | BRI |
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Formation | 2013; 12 years ago (2013) 2017 (2017) (Forum) 2019 (Forum) 2023 (Forum) |
Founder | People's Republic of China |
Legal status | Active |
Purpose | Promote economic development and inter-regional connectivity |
Location |
|
Website | www |
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road | |||||||||||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路 | ||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 絲綢之路經濟帶和21世紀海上絲綢之路 | ||||||||||||||
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One Belt, One Road (OBOR) | |||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 一带一路 | ||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 一帶一路 | ||||||||||||||
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The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations. The BRI is composed of six urban development land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure and the Maritime Silk Road linked by the development of ports.
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Xi Jinping originally announced the strategy as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" during an official visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013. "Belt" refers to the proposed overland routes for road and rail transportation through landlocked Central Asia along the famed historical trade routes of the Western Regions; "road" is short for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which refers to the Indo-Pacific sea routes through Southeast Asia to South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
It is considered a centerpiece of Xi Jinping's foreign policy. The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role in global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status. As of early 2024, more than 140 countries were part of the BRI. The participating countries include almost 75% of the world's population and account for more than half of the world's GDP.
The initiative was incorporated into the constitution of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017. The Xi Jinping Administration describes the initiative as "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future." The project has a target completion date of 2049, which will coincide with the centennial of the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s founding.
Numerous studies conducted by the World Bank have estimated that BRI can boost trade flows in 155 participating countries by 4.1 percent, as well as cutting the cost of global trade by 1.1 percent to 2.2 percent, and grow the GDP of East Asian and Pacific developing countries by an average of 2.6 to 3.9 percent. According to London-based consultants Centre for Economics and Business Research, BRI is likely to increase the world GDP by $7.1 trillion per annum by 2040, and that benefits will be "widespread" as improved infrastructure reduces "frictions that hold back world trade". CEBR also concludes that the project will be likely to attract further countries to join, if the global infrastructure initiative progresses and gains momentum.
Supporters praise the BRI for its potential to boost the global GDP, particularly in developing countries. However, there has also been criticism over human rights violations and environmental impact, as well as concerns of debt-trap diplomacy resulting in neocolonialism and economic imperialism. These differing perspectives are the subject of active debate.
Objectives
Background
Main articles: China's peaceful rise, Chinese Century, Beijing Consensus, and Chinese DreamChina's policy of channeling its construction companies abroad began with Jiang Zemin's Go Out policy. Xi Jinping's BRI built on and expanded this policy as well as built on Jiang's China Western Development policy.
Xi announced the BRI concept as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" on 7 September 2013 at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan In October 2013 during a speech delivered in Indonesia, Xi stated that China planned to build a "twenty-first century Maritime Silk Road" to enhance cooperation in Southeast Asia and beyond.
The BRI's stated objectives are "to construct a unified large market and make full use of both international and domestic markets, through cultural exchange and integration, to enhance mutual understanding and trust of member nations, resulting in an innovative pattern of capital inflows, talent pools, and technology databases." The Belt and Road Initiative addresses an "infrastructure gap" and thus has the potential to accelerate economic growth across the Asia Pacific, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe. A report from the World Pensions Council estimates that Asia, excluding China, requires up to US$900 billion of infrastructure investments per year over the next decade, mostly in debt instruments, 50% above current infrastructure spending rates. The gaping need for long-term capital explains why many Asian and Eastern European heads of state "gladly expressed their interest in joining this new international financial institution focusing solely on 'real assets' and infrastructure-driven economic growth".
The initial focus has been infrastructure investment, education, construction materials, railway and highway, automobile, real estate, power grid, and iron and steel. Already, some estimates list the Belt and Road Initiative as one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, covering more than 68 countries, including 65% of the world's population and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017. The project builds on the old trade routes that once connected China to the west, Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta's routes in the north and the maritime expedition routes of Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He in the south. The Belt and Road Initiative now refers to the entire geographical area of the historic "Silk Road" trade route, which has been continuously used in antiquity.
The goals of the BRI were officially presented for the first time in a 2015 document, the Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Belt and Road. It outlined six economic corridors for trade and investment connectivity would be implemented.
The BRI develops new markets for Chinese firms, channels excess industrial capacity overseas, increases China's access to resources, and strengthens its ties with partner countries. The initiative generates its own export demand because Chinese loans enable participating countries to develop infrastructure projects involving Chinese firms and expertise. The infrastructure developed also helps China to address the imbalance between its more developed eastern regions and its less developed western regions.
For developing countries, the BRI is appealing because of the opportunities it offers to alleviate their economic disadvantages relative to Western countries. The BRI offers them infrastructure development, financial assistance, and technical assistance from China. The increase in foreign direct investment and increased trade linkages also increases employment and poverty alleviation for these countries.
While some countries, especially the United States, view the project critically because of possible Chinese government influence, others point to the creation of a new global growth engine by connecting and moving Asia, Europe and Africa closer together.
In the maritime silk road, which is already the route for more than half of all containers in the world, deep-water ports are being expanded, logistical hubs are being built, and new traffic routes are being created in the hinterland. The maritime silk road runs with its connections from the Chinese coast to the south, linking Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Jakarta, then westward linking the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, and Malé, capital of the Maldives, and onward to East Africa, and the city of Mombasa, in Kenya. From there the linkage moves northward to Djibouti, through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, thereby linking Haifa, Istanbul, and Athens, to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste, with its international free port and its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.
As a result, Poland, the Baltic States, Northern Europe, and Central Europe are also connected to the maritime silk road and logistically linked to East Africa, India and China via the Adriatic ports and Piraeus. All in all, the ship connections for container transports between Asia and Europe will be reorganized. In contrast to the longer East Asian traffic via north-west Europe, the southern sea route through the Suez Canal towards the junction Trieste shortens the goods transport by at least four days.
In connection with the Silk Road project, China is also trying to network worldwide research activities.
Simon Shen and Wilson Chan have compared the initiative to the post-World War II Marshall Plan. It is the largest infrastructure investment by a great power since the Marshall Plan.
China intentionally frames the BRI flexibly in order to adapt it to changing needs or policies, such as the addition of a "Health Silk Road" during the COVID-19. The Health Silk Road (HSR) is an initiative under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aimed at enhancing public health infrastructure and fostering international cooperation in healthcare. Initiated as part of China's broader strategy to engage in global health governance, the HSR seeks to improve healthcare facilities, enhance disease prevention, and strengthen healthcare cooperation across participating countries. The initiative includes the construction of healthcare facilities, such as hospitals in Pakistan and Laos, and collaborative programs with global organizations like the World Health Organization. Academic Shaoyu Yuan finds that while the HSR contributes to health sector improvements in participating nations, it also prompts discussions regarding the long-term debt sustainability and the transparency of project execution. As the HSR expands, it exemplifies China's role in global health diplomacy, reflecting a complex interplay between development goals and geopolitical strategy.
Initiative name
The official name for the initiative is the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Development Strategy (丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路发展战略), which was initially abbreviated as the One Belt One Road (Chinese: 一带一路) or the OBOR strategy. The English translation has been changed to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since 2016, when the Chinese government considered the emphasis on the words "one" and "strategy" were prone to misinterpretation and suspicion, so they opted for the more inclusive term "initiative" in its translation. However, "One Belt One Road" is still the reference term in Chinese-language media.
International relations
The Belt and Road Initiative is believed by some analysts to be a way to extend Chinese economic and political influence. Some geopolitical analysts have couched the Belt and Road Initiative in the context of Halford Mackinder's heartland theory. Scholars have noted that official PRC media attempts to mask any strategic dimensions of the Belt and Road Initiative as a motivation, while others note that the BRI also serves as signposts for Chinese provinces and ministries, guiding their policies and actions. Academic Keyu Jin writes that while the BRI does advance strategic interests for China, it also reflects the CCP's vision of a world order based on "building a global community of shared future".
China has already invested billions of dollars in several South Asian countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to improve their basic infrastructure, with implications for China's trade regime as well as its military influence. This project can also become a new economic corridor for different regions. For example, in the Caucasus region, China considered cooperation with Armenia from May 2019. Chinese and Armenian sides had multiple meetings, signed contracts, initiated a north–south road program to solve even infrastructure-related aspects.
Military implications
The BRI has been viewed as part of a strategy to lessen the effect of choke points such as the Strait of Malacca in the event of a military conflict and to blunt the U.S. island chain strategy. A 2023 study by AidData of the College of William & Mary determined that overseas port locations subject to significant BRI investment raise questions of dual military and civilian use and may be favorable for future naval bases.
Writing in 2023, David H. Shinn and academic Joshua Eisenman state that through the BRI, China seeks to strengthen its position and diminish American military influence, but that China's BRI activity is likely not a prelude to American-style military bases or American-style global military presence.
Other analysts characterize China's construction of ports which could have dual-uses as an attempt to avoid the necessity of establishing strictly military bases. According to academic Xue Guifang, China is not motivated to repeat the model of the People's Liberation Army Support Base in Djibouti.
Western regions
Further information: Xinjiang conflict and Persecution of Uyghurs in ChinaEconomic development of China's less developed western regions, particularly Xinjiang, is one of the government's stated goals in pursuing the BRI. The strategic location of Xinjiang has also been recognized as central. In 2014, state media outlet Xinhua News Agency stated Xinjiang "connects Pakistan, Mongolia, Russia, India, and four other central Asian countries with a borderline extending 5,600 km, giving it easy access to the Eurasian heartland." Some analysts have suggested that the CCP considers Xinjiang's local population, the Uyghurs, and their attachment to their traditional lands potential threats to the BRI's success, or it fears that developing Xinjiang may also open it up to radicalizing Islamic influences from other states which are participating in the BRI.
Leadership
A leading group was formed sometime in late 2014, and its leadership line-up publicized on 1 February 2015. This steering committee reports directly into the State Council of China and is composed of several political heavyweights, evidence of the importance of the program to the government. Then Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, who was also a member of the 7-man CCP Politburo Standing Committee, was named leader of the group, and Wang Huning, Wang Yang, Yang Jing, and Yang Jiechi named deputy leaders.
On 28 March 2015, China's State Council outlined the principles, framework, key areas of cooperation and cooperation mechanisms with regard to the initiative. The BRI is considered a central element within China's foreign policy, and was incorporated into the CCP's constitution in 2017 during its 19th Congress. The BRI represents a set of policies for Chinese engagement with the global South, including diversifying resource and energy supplies, building loan-funded infrastructure using Chinese companies, creating new markets for Chinese companies, and engaging global South countries simultaneously at bilateral and regional levels.
With regard to China and the African countries, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is a significant multi-lateral cooperation mechanism for facilitating BRI projects. The China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) serves a similar coordinating role with regard to BRI projects in the Arab states.
Membership
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2024) |
Countries join the Belt and Road Initiative by signing a memorandum of understanding with China regarding their participation in it. The Government of China maintains a listing of all involved countries on its Belt and Road Portal, and state media outlet Xinhua News Agency puts out a press release whenever a memorandum of understanding related to the Belt and Road Initiative is signed with a new country. Not counting China, there were 154 countries formally affiliated with the Belt and Road Initiative As of August 2023 according to observers at Fudan University's Green Finance and Development Center, and an independent analysis from Germany from the same time also found 148 member states out of 249 political entities surveyed. The Council on Foreign Relations additionally found 139 member countries as of March 2021; countries that are documented as joining since then include Syria and Argentina. The full list of current members according to the Chinese government is below:
Current members
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Republic of Congo
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ivory Coast
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nepal
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Niue
- North Macedonia
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Past members
Financing
China's investment in the BRI began at a moderate level in 2013 and increased significantly over 2014 and 2015. Investment volume peaked in 2016 and 2017. Afterwards, investments decreased gradually, and then significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The BRI's lowest investment volume was in 2023.
China's investment in the Maritime Silk Road portion of the BRI has grown at a steady pace. As of 2023, Maritime Silk Road investments were 60% of the BRI's total investment volume.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Prospective members (regional) Members (regional) Prospective members (non-regional) Members (non-regional) |
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, first proposed in October 2013, is a development bank dedicated to lending for infrastructure projects. As of 2015, China announced that over one trillion yuan (US$160 billion) of infrastructure-related projects were in planning or construction.
The primary goals of AIIB are to address the expanding infrastructure needs across Asia, enhance regional integration, promote economic development and improve public access to social services. At inception, the AIIB was explicitly linked to the BRI. The AIIB was subsequently broadened to include investments with states that are not involved with the BRI.
Loans through AIIB are accessible on AIIB's website, unlike many other forms of Chinese investment through the BRI.
Silk Road Fund
For the main article, see Silk Road Fund.On 29 December 2014, China established the Silk Road Fund with total capital of US$40 billion and ¥100 billion. The Silk Road Fund invests in BRI infrastructure, resource development, energy development, industrial cooperation, and financial cooperation. The Karot Hydropower Project in Pakistan was its first project.
China Investment Corporation
China Investment Corporation supports the BRI by investing in its infrastructure projects, participating in other BRI-related development funds, and assisting Chinese corporations with foreign mergers and acquisitions. China Investment Corporation also invested in the Silk Road Fund.
CIC's domestic subsidiary Central Huijin indirectly supports the BRI through its support of domestic financial institutions, such as policy banks or state-owned commercial banks, which in turn fund BRI projects.
Policy banks
Policy banks, including the Chinese Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, have important roles in funding BRI projects.
Other financing
Between 2015 and 2020, the Bank of China lent over US$185.1 billion for BRI projects.
As of April 2019, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China had lent over US$100 billion for BRI projects.
Debt sustainability
In 2017, China joined the G20 Operational Guidelines for Sustainable Financing and in 2019 to the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment. The Center for Global Development described China's New Debt Sustainability Framework as "virtually identical" to the World Bank's and IMF's own debt sustainability framework. According to academic Jeremy Garlick, for many impoverished countries, China is the best available option for development finance and practical assistance. Western investors and the World Bank have been reluctant to invest in troubled countries like Pakistan, Cambodia, Tajikistan, and Montenegro, which China is willing to invest in through the BRI. Generally, the United States and EU have not offered global South countries with investment comparable to what China offers through the BRI.
China is the largest bilateral lender in the world. Loans are backed by collateral such as rights to a mine, a port or money.
This policy has been alleged by the US Government to be a form of debt-trap diplomacy; however, according to the Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post, the term itself has come under scrutiny as analysts and researchers have pointed out that there is no evidence to prove that China is deliberately aiming to do debt-trap diplomacy. Research from Deborah Brautigam, an international political economy professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Meg Rithmire, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, have disputed the allegations of debt-trap diplomacy by China and pointed out that "Chinese banks are willing to restructure the terms of existing loans and have never actually seized an asset from any country, much less the port of Hambantota". In an editorial letter, they argued that it was 'long overdue' for people to know the truth and not to have it be "wilfully misunderstood". Writing in 2023, academic and former UK diplomat Kerry Brown states that China's relationship to the Hambantota port has become the opposite of the theorized debt-trap modus operandi. Brown observes that China has had to commit more money to the project, expose itself to further risk, and has had to become entangled in complex local politics.As of 2024, the port has not been a significant economic success, although shipping through the port is on the increase.
In his comparison of BRI loans to IMF loans and Paris Club loans, which have not been very successful in reducing the debt of developing countries, academic Jeremy Garlick concludes that there is no reason to believe the BRI framework is worse for developing countries' debt than Western lending frameworks.
For China itself, a report from Fitch Ratings doubts Chinese banks' ability to control risks, as they do not have a good record of allocating resources efficiently at home. This may lead to new asset quality problems for Chinese banks where most funding is likely to originate.
In August 2022, China announced that it would forgive 23 of its interest-free loans to 17 African nations. The loans had matured at the end of 2021.
Effects
An analysis of BRI loans from 2007 to 2022 found that they make other forms of financing on the bond market more expensive for the debtor country.
Infrastructure networks
The BRI is composed of six urban development land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure and the Maritime Silk Road linked by the development of ports.
The Silk Road has proven to be a productive but at the same time elusive concept, increasingly used as an evocative metaphor. With China's 'Belt and Road Initiative', it has found fresh invocations and audiences. These are the belts in the name, and there is also a maritime silk road. Infrastructure corridors spanning some 60 countries, primarily in Asia and Europe but also including Oceania and East Africa, will cost an estimated US$4–8 trillion. The land corridors include:
- The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) (Chinese:中国-巴基斯坦经济走廊; Urdu: پاكستان-چین اقتصادی راہداری) is the most developed land corridor of the BRI, as of at least 2024. It is a US$62 billion collection of infrastructure projects throughout Pakistan which aims to rapidly modernize Pakistan's transportation networks, energy infrastructure, and economy. On 13 November 2016, CPEC became partly operational when Chinese cargo was transported overland to Gwadar Port for onward maritime shipment to Africa and West Asia. CPEC and Gwadar port infrastructure is particularly significant because it opens routes independent of the Malacca strait.
- The New Eurasian Land Bridge, which runs from Western China to Western Russia through Kazakhstan, and includes the Silk Road Railway through China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany. Astana, Kazakhstan is a major hub for the BRI, including related financial services and legal services. Khorgos which straddles the Kazakhstan-China border, is the major dry port for this corridor and is the place where rail cargo switches from the standard gauge used in China to the wider gauge used in the former Soviet Union.
- The China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor, running from Northern China through Mongolia to the Russian Far East. The Russian government-established Russian Direct Investment Fund and China's China Investment Corporation, a Chinese sovereign wealth fund, partnered in 2012 to create the Russia-China Investment Fund, which concentrates on opportunities in bilateral integration.
- The China–Central Asia–West Asia Corridor, which will run from Western China to Turkey.
- The China-Indochina Peninsula economic corridor, which will run from Southern China to Singapore.
- The Trans-Himalayan Multi-dimensional Connectivity Network, which will turn Nepal from a landlocked to a land-linked country.
This kind of connectivity is the focus of BRI efforts because China's significant economic growth has been supported by exports and the overland import of major quantities of raw materials and intermediate components.
By 2022, China had built cross-border highways and expressway networks to almost every nearby region.
Railway connectivity is a major focus of the BRI. Use of BRI-related rail surged after the COVID-19 pandemic, which had congested air freight and sea shipping, and hampered port access. As of 2024, multiple BRI railway projects were branded as the China Railways Express, which linked approximately 60 Chinese cities to approximately 50 European cities.
Silk Road Economic Belt
Xi Jinping visited Astana, Kazakhstan, and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013, and proposed jointly building a new economic area, the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) (Chinese: 丝绸之路经济带). The "belt" includes countries on the original Silk Road through Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The initiative would create a cohesive economic area by building both hard infrastructure such as rail and road links and soft infrastructure such as trade agreements and a common commercial legal structure with a court system to police the agreements.
Besides a zone largely analogous to the historical Silk Road, an expansion includes South Asia and Southeast Asia. The BRI is important from the Southeast Asian perspective because, with the exception of Singapore, Southeast Asian countries require significant infrastructure investment to advance their development.
Three belts are proposed. The North belt would go through Central Asia and Russia to Europe. The Central belt passes through Central Asia and West Asia to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. The South belt runs from China through Southeast Asia and South Asia and on to the Indian Ocean through Pakistan. The strategy will integrate China with Central Asia through Kazakhstan's Nurly Zhol infrastructure program.
21st Century Maritime Silk Road
Main article: 21st Century Maritime Silk RoadThe "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" (Chinese:21世纪海上丝绸之路), or just the Maritime Silk Road, is the sea route 'corridor.' It is a complementary initiative aimed at investing and fostering collaboration in Southeast Asia, Oceania and Africa through several contiguous bodies of water: the South China Sea, the South Pacific Ocean, and the wider Indian Ocean area. It was first proposed in October 2013 by Xi Jinping in a speech to the Indonesian Parliament.
The maritime Silk Road runs with its links from the Chinese coast to the south via Hanoi to Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur through the Strait of Malacca via the Sri Lankan Colombo opposite the southern tip of India via Malé, the capital of the Maldives, to the East African Mombasa, from there to Djibouti, then through the Red Sea over the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, there via Haifa, Istanbul and Athens to the Upper Adriatic to the northern Italian junction of Trieste with its international free port and its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.
According to estimates in 2019, the land route of the Silk Road remains a niche project and the bulk of the Silk Road trade continues to be carried out by sea. The reasons are primarily due to the cost of container transport. The maritime Silk Road is also considered to be particularly attractive for trade because, in contrast to the land-based Silk Road leading through the sparsely populated Central Asia, there are on the one hand, far more states on the way to Europe and, on the other hand, their markets, development opportunities, and population numbers are far larger. In particular, there are many land-based links, such as the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Corridor (BCIM). Due to the attractiveness of this now subsidized sea route and the related investments, there have been major shifts in the logistics chains of the shipping sector in recent years. Due to its unique geographical location, Myanmar is viewed to be playing a pivotal role in China's BRI projects.
From the Chinese point of view, Africa is important as a market, raw material supplier and platform for the expansion of the new Silk Road – the coasts of Africa should be included. In Kenya's port of Mombasa, China has built a rail and road connection to the inland and to the capital Nairobi. To the northeast of Mombasa, a large port with 32 berths including an adjacent industrial area including infrastructure with new traffic corridors to South Sudan and Ethiopia is being built. A modern deep-water port, a satellite city, an airfield and an industrial area are being built in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Further towards the Mediterranean, the Teda Egypt special economic zone is being built near the Egyptian coastal town of Ain Sochna as a joint Chinese-Egyptian project.
- Suez Canal
- Container ship transiting the Suez Canal
- Mombasa Port on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast
As part of its Silk Road strategy, China is participating in large areas of Africa in the construction and operation of train routes, roads, airports and industry. In several countries, such as Zambia, Ethiopia and Ghana, dams have been built with Chinese help. In Nairobi, China is funding the construction of the tallest building in Africa, the Pinnacle Towers. With the Chinese investments of 60 billion dollars for Africa announced in September 2018, on the one hand, sales markets are created, and the local economy is promoted, and, on the other hand, African raw materials are made available for China.
One of the Chinese bridgeheads in Europe is the port of Piraeus. Overall, Chinese companies are to invest a total of 350 million euros directly in the port facilities there by 2026 and a further 200 million euros in associated projects such as hotels. In Europe, China wants to continue investing in Portugal with its deep-water port in Sines, but especially in Italy and there at the Adriatic logistics hub around Trieste. Venice, the historically important European endpoint of the maritime Silk Road, has less and less commercial importance today due to the shallow depth or silting of its port.
The international free zone of Trieste provides in particular special areas for storage, handling and processing as well as transit zones for goods. At the same time, logistics and shipping companies invest in their technology and locations in order to benefit from ongoing developments. This also applies to the logistics connections between Turkey and the free port of Trieste, which are important for the Silk Road, and from there by train to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. There is also direct cooperation, for example between Trieste, Bettembourg, and the Chinese province of Sichuan. While direct train connections from China to Europe, such as from Chengdu to Vienna overland, are partially stagnating or discontinued, there are (as of 2019) new weekly rail connections between Wolfurt or Nuremberg and Trieste or between Trieste, Vienna and Linz on the maritime Silk Road.
There are also extensive intra-European infrastructure projects to adapt trade flows to current needs. Concrete projects (as well as their financing), which are to ensure the connection of the Mediterranean ports with the European hinterland, are decided among others at the annual China-Central-East-Europe summit, which was launched in 2012. This applies, for example, to the expansion of the Belgrade-Budapest railway line, the construction of the high-speed train between Milan, Venice and Trieste and connections on the Adriatic-Baltic and Adriatic-North Sea axis. Poland, the Baltic States, Northern Europe and Central Europe are also connected to the maritime Silk Road through many links and are thus logistically networked via the Adriatic ports and Piraeus to East Africa, India and China. Overall the pan is that the ship connections for container transport between Asia and Europe will be reorganized. In contrast to the longer East Asia traffic via northwest Europe, the south-facing sea route through the Suez Canal towards the Trieste bridgehead shortens the transport of goods by at least four days.
According to a study by the University of Antwerp, the maritime route via Trieste dramatically reduces transport costs. The example of Munich shows that the transport there from Shanghai via Trieste takes 33 days, while the northern route takes 43 days. From Hong Kong, the southern route reduces transport to Munich from 37 to 28 days. The shorter route leads to better use of the ships and lower CO2 emissions. Therefore, in the Mediterranean area, where the economic zone of the Liverpool–Milan Axis meets functioning railroad connections and deep-water ports, there are significant growth zones. Henning Vöpel, Director of the Hamburg World Economic Institute, says that the North Range (i.e. transport via the North Sea ports to Europe) will not necessarily remain dominant in the medium term.
From 2025, the Brenner Base Tunnel will also link the upper Adriatic with southern Germany. The port of Trieste, next to Gioia Tauro the only deep water port in the central Mediterranean for container ships of the seventh generation, is therefore a special target for Chinese investments. In March 2019, the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) signed agreements to promote the ports of Trieste and Genoa. Accordingly, the port's annual handling capacity will be increased from 10,000 to 25,000 trains in Trieste (Trihub project) and a reciprocal platform to promote and handle trade between Europe and China will be created. It is also about logistics promotion between the North Adriatic port and Shanghai or Guangdong. This also includes a state Hungarian investment of 100 million euros for a 32 hectare logistics center and funding from the European Union of 45 million euros in 2020 for the development of the railway system in the port city. Furthermore, the Hamburg port logistics group HHLA invested in the logistics platform of the port of Trieste (PLT) in September 2020. In 2020, Duisburger Hafen AG (Duisport), the world's largest intermodal terminal operator, took a 15% stake in the Trieste freight terminal. There are also further contacts between Hamburg, Bremen and Trieste with regard to cooperation. There are also numerous collaborations in the Upper Adriatic, for example with the logistics platform in Cervignano. In particular, the area of the upper Adriatic is developing into an extended intersection of the economic areas known as the Blue Banana and the Golden Banana. The importance of the free port of Trieste is expected to continue to increase in the coming years due to the planned port expansion and the expansion of the Baltic-Adriatic railway axis (Semmering Base Tunnel, Koralm Tunnel and in the wider area Brenner Base Tunnel).
Ice Silk Road
In addition to the Maritime Silk Road, Russia and China are reported to have agreed to jointly build an 'Ice Silk Road' along the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic, along a maritime route within Russian territorial waters.
China COSCO Shipping Corp. has completed several trial trips on Arctic shipping routes, and Chinese and Russian companies are cooperating on oil and gas exploration in the area and to advance comprehensive collaboration on infrastructure construction, tourism and scientific expeditions.
Digital Silk Road
In 2015, Xi announced the Digital Silk Road. The Digital Silk Road is a component of the BRI which includes digital technological development, the development of digital standards, and the expansion of digital infrastructure.Its stated aim is to improve digital connectivity among participating countries, with China as the main driver of the improved digital infrastructure, with the benefit to China of reducing its reliance on American digital technology. It has also been called a way to export China's system of mass surveillance and censorship, according to rights group Article 19.
Like the BRI more broadly, the Digital Silk Road is not monolithic and involves many actors across both China's public and private sectors. Alibaba supplies a significant amount of technology for the Digital Silk Road.
China frames the Digital Silk Road as part of an effort to create a community of common destiny in cyberspace. A key component of the strategy is to build digital infrastructure in areas of the global south where private providers have not been willing to develop infrastructure and where local governments do not have the capacity to do so. China's willingness to develop digital infrastructure in such locations is in part due to the expectation that future population growth will be especially high in global south regions.
As part of the Digital Silk Road, China built 34 terrestrial cables and dozens of underwater cables within 12 BRI countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe over the period 2017–2022. Digital Silk Road-related investments in projects outside China reached an estimated US$79 billion as of 2018.
At the opening ceremony of the first Belt and Road Forum, Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of developing a Digital Silk Road through innovation in intelligent cities concepts, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and quantum computing.
The Eurasian Economic Union cooperates with China on the development of the Digital Silk Road. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus are actively involved in the Digital Silk Road while Russia incorporated Chinese technologies into its digital infrastructure.
In February 2024, leaked documents from a Chinese government contractor based in Shanghai called I-Soon provided details into a hacking campaign involving the critical infrastructure of Digital Silk Road partner countries.
Super grid
The super grid project aims to develop six ultra high voltage electrical grids across China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia. The wind power resources of Central Asia would form one component of this grid. Because renewable resources are far from the centres of population, a long-distance transmission system is needed, which needs to be ultra-high voltage to operate efficiently.
Additionally proposed
The Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM) was proposed to run from southern China to Myanmar and was initially officially classified as "closely related to the Belt and Road Initiative". Since the second Belt and Road Forum in 2019, BCIM has been dropped from the list of projects due to India's refusal to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Projects
For a more comprehensive list, see List of projects of the Belt and Road Initiative.China has engaged 149 countries and 30 international organizations in the BRI. Infrastructure projects include ports, railways, highways, power stations, aviation and telecommunications. The flagship projects include the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Boten–Vientiane railway in Laos and Khorgos land port. The launch of the China-Europe Freight Train (CEFT) preceded the BRI but was later incorporated into the BRI.
Interpretations of which projects are part of the BRI can differ because the Chinese government does not publish a comprehensive list of projects. The Chinese Academy of Sciences takes a narrow definition, including only projects derived from, or included in, cooperation dialogues between China and other BRI countries.
Corruption scandals
There is limited data on corruption involving the BRI in Chinese government sources. In response to public corruption scandals such as the bribery and money laundering conviction of BRI advocate Patrick Ho, in 2019, the CCP's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that it would embed officers in countries participating in the BRI. A 2021 analysis by AidData at the College of William & Mary found that Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Mozambique, and Belarus, were the top countries for reported corruption scandals involving BRI projects.
Ecological issues
Approximately 54% of the BRI's energy projects are in clean energy or alternative energy sectors.
The Belt and Road initiative has attracted attention and concern from environmental organizations. A joint report by the World Wide Fund for Nature and HSBC argued that the BRI presents significant risks as well as opportunities for sustainable development. These risks include the overuse of natural resources, the disruption of ecosystems, and the emission of pollutants. Coal-fired power stations, such as Emba Hunutlu power station in Turkey, are being built as part of BRI, thus increasing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Glacier melting as a result of excess greenhouse gas emissions, endangered species preservation, desertification and soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and over farming, mining practices, water resource management, and air and water pollution as a result of poorly planned infrastructure projects are some of the ongoing concerns as they relate to Central Asian nations.
A point of criticism of the BRI overall relates to the motivation of pollution and environmental degradation outsourcing to poorer nations, whose governments will disregard the consequences. In Serbia, for instance, where pollution-related deaths already top Europe, the presence of Chinese-owned coal-powered plants have resulted in an augmentation in the country's dependency on coal, as well as air and soil pollution in some towns. BRI coal projects accounted for as much as 42% of China's overseas investment in 2018, and 93% of energy investments of the BRI-linked Silk Road Fund go to fossil fuels.
The development of port infrastructure and increasing shipping associated with the maritime Belt and Road Initiative could impact sensitive species and marine habitats like coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass meadows and saltmarsh.
A report by the United Nations Development Programme and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges frame the BRI as an opportunity for environmental protection so long as it is used to provide green trade, finance, and investment in alignment with each country's implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Other proposals include providing financial support for BRI member countries aiming to fulfill their contribution to the Paris Agreement, or providing resources and policy expertise to aid the expansion of renewable energy sources such as solar power in member countries.
China views the concept of ecological civilization as part of the BRI.
The Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) was launched during the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in April 2019. It aims to "integrate sustainable development, in particular environmental sustainability, international standards and best practices, across the... priorities of the Belt and Road Initiative". However, many scholars are unsure whether these best practices will be implemented. All BRI-specific environmental protection goals are outlined in informal guidelines rather than legally binding policies or regulations. Moreover, member nations may choose to prioritize economic development over environmental protections, leading them to neglect to enforce environmental policy or lower environmental policy standards. This could cause member nations to become "pollution havens" as Chinese domestic environmental protections are strengthened, though evidence of this currently happening is limited.
Based on the most recent report from the Green Finance and Development center, which reports on the environmental progress of Belt and Road Initiative investment, there is evidence which shows that China has been successful in following the informal guidelines laid out by the BRIGC. Many of the southeast Asia and eastern Europe countries that China seeks to work with through the BRI prioritize sustainable development. China has responded by emphasizing a "Green Silk Road" and promoting harmony between humanity and the environment. Chinese BRI investment in 2023 show that the year has been China's “greenest” yet since the project's inception when it comes to clean energy investment. China made its largest ever contribution to investment in the green-energy sector, with US$7.9 billion being devoted to solar and wind power development, with projects being built in Brazil and Indonesia. A further US$1.9 billion was invested in hydropower industry, including BRI hydroelectric dam projects in Cambodia, Pakistan, Uganda, Tajikistan, Georgia, Myanmar and Indonesia. There are additional solar and wind farm projects in Kazakhstan and Pakistan.
In September 2021, Xi Jinping announced that his country will "step up support" for developing countries to adopt "green and low-carbon energy" and will no longer be financing overseas coal-fired power plants. Xi has seemingly failed to live up to this pledge, as there has been expressed interest by China in providing financial and technically support for new coal-fired power projects. In January 2023, Pakistan announced that it had approved the construction of a Chinese-funded 300 MW coal-fired power plant in Gwadar, Pakistan. More recently in January 2024, a 380 MW coal-fired power plant started operation in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Allegations of human rights violations
A 2021 analysis by AidData at the College of William & Mary found that 35 percent of BRI infrastructure projects have encountered "major implementations problems" such as labor violations, corruption, environmental hazards, and public protests.
According to a report by American NGO China Labor Watch, there are widespread human rights violations concerning Chinese migrant workers sent abroad. The Chinese companies allegedly "commit forced labor" and usually confiscate the workers' passports once they arrive in another country, make them apply for illegal business visas and threaten to report their illegal status if they refuse to comply, refuse to give adequate medical care and rest, restrict workers' personal freedom and freedom of speech, force workers to overwork, cancel vacations, delay the payment of wages, publish deceptive advertisements and promises, browbeat workers with high amount of damages if they intend to leave, provide bad working and living conditions, punish workers who lead protests and so on.
Table of BRI investment by country from 2014 to 2018
Country | Construction | Country | Investment |
---|---|---|---|
Pakistan | 31.9 | Singapore | 24.3 |
Nigeria | 23.2 | Malaysia | 14.1 |
Bangladesh | 17.5 | Russia | 10.4 |
Indonesia | 16.8 | Indonesia | 9.4 |
Malaysia | 15.8 | South Korea | 8.1 |
Egypt | 15.3 | Israel | 7.9 |
United Arab Emirates | 14.7 | Pakistan | 7.6 |
Reactions
Generally, it is more important for China to persuade its domestic audiences of the benefits of BRI than it is to persuade foreign audiences at-large. Academic Jeremy Garlick writes that this is a reason why the Chinese government presents the BRI in a way more intuitively understandable to domestic than global audiences.
Former EU diplomat Bruno Maçães describes the BRI as the world's first transnational industrial policy because it goes beyond national policy to influence the industrial policy of other states.
Support
As of 2020, more than 130 countries had issued endorsements. UN Secretary General António Guterres has described the BRI as capable of accelerating the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Institutional connections between the BRI and multiple UN bodies have also been established.
In June 2016, Xi Jinping visited Poland and met with Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Beata Szydło. Duda and Xi signed a declaration on strategic partnership in which they reiterated that Poland and China viewed each other as long-term strategic partners.
As a wealthy country, Singapore does not need massive external financing or technical assistance for domestic infrastructure building, but has repeatedly endorsed the BRI and cooperated in related projects in a quest for global relevance and to strengthen economic ties with BRI recipients. It is also one of the largest investors in the project. Furthermore, there is a strategic defensive factor: making sure a single country is not the single dominant factor in Asian economics.
While the Philippines historically has been closely tied to the United States, China sought its support for the BRI in terms of the quest for dominance in the South China Sea. The Philippines adjusted its policy in favor of Chinese claims in the South China Sea under President Rodrigo Duterte.
In 2017, Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek Minister of Finance, wrote in Project Syndicate that his experience with the Belt and Road Initiative has been highly encouraging. He remarked that the Chinese authorities managed to combine their sense of self-interest with a patient investment attitude and a genuine commitment to negotiate over and over again, in order to achieve a mutually advantageous agreement.
In April 2019 and during the second Arab Forum for Environment and Development, China engaged in an array of partnerships called "Build the Belt and Road, Share Development and Prosperity" with 18 Arab countries. The general stand of African countries sees BRI as a tremendous opportunity for independence from foreign aid and influence.
Greece, Croatia, and 14 other Eastern European countries are already dealing with China within the framework of the BRI. In March 2019, Italy was the first member of the Group of Seven nations to join the BRI. The new partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth €2.5 billion across an array of sectors such as transport, logistics, and port infrastructure.
Despite initially criticizing BRI, the former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad pledged support for the BRI project in 2019. He stated that he was fully in support of the Belt and Road Initiative and that his country would benefit from BRI. "Yes, the Belt and Road idea is great. It can bring the land-locked countries of Central Asia closer to the sea. They can grow in wealth and their poverty reduced," Mahathir said.
Russian political scientist Sergey Karaganov argues that the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and China's Belt and Road Initiative will work together to promote economic integration throughout the region.
Opposition
Some observers and skeptics, mainly from non-participant countries, including the United States, interpret it as a plan for a Sinocentric international trade network. In response the United States, Japan, and Australia had formed a counter initiative, the Blue Dot Network in 2019, followed by the G7's Build Back Better World initiative in 2021.
The United States proposes a counter-initiative called the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy" (FOIP). US officials have articulated the strategy as having three pillars: security, economics, and governance. At the beginning of June 2019, there has been a redefinition of the general definitions of "free" and "open" into four stated principles: respect for sovereignty and independence; peaceful resolution of disputes; free, fair, and reciprocal trade; and adherence to international rules and norms.
Government officials in India have repeatedly objected to China's Belt and Road Initiative. In particular, they believe the "China–Pakistan Economic Corridor" (CPEC) project ignores New Delhi's essential concerns about its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had initially found the terms of BRI to be too harsh for most countries and recommended countries avoid joining the BRI, but has changed his stance since.
According to a report by Reuters, in 2019 the United States Central Intelligence Agency began a clandestine campaign on Chinese social media to spread negative narratives about the Xi Jinping administration in an effort to influence Chinese public opinion against the government. The CIA promoted narratives that CCP leaders were hiding money overseas and that the BRI was corrupt and wasteful. As part of the campaign, the CIA also targeted foreign countries where the United States and China compete for influence.
Mixed
Vietnam historically has been at odds with China, so it has been indecisive about supporting or opposing BRI. In December 2023, Vietnam and China agreed a number of cooperation documents, including one related to the BRI.
South Korea has tried to develop the "Eurasia Initiative" (EAI) as its own vision for an east–west connection. In calling for a revival of the ancient Silk Road, the main goal of President Park Geun-hye was to encourage a flow of economic, political, and social interaction from Europe through the Korean Peninsula. Her successor, President Moon Jae-in announced his own foreign policy initiative, the "New Southern Policy" (NSP), which seeks to strengthen relations with Southeast Asia.
In 2017, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger stressed that cooperation between the US and Chinese governments was preferable to a race towards a new cold war. In his view the United States should embed itself into the Belt and Road Initiative by way of joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which would allow the United States to legitimately object to Chinese diplomatic over-reach.
While Italy and Greece have joined the Belt and Road Initiative, other European countries have voiced ambivalent opinions. German chancellor Angela Merkel declared that the BRI "must lead to a certain reciprocity, and we are still wrangling over that bit". In January 2019, French president Emmanuel Macron said, "the ancient Silk Roads were never just Chinese … New roads cannot go just one way." European Commission Chief Jean-Claude Juncker and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed an infrastructure agreement in Brussels in September 2019 to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative and link Europe and Asia to coordinate infrastructure, transport, and digital projects.
In 2018, the premier of the south-eastern Australian state of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative to establish infrastructure ties and further relations with China. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton described the BRI as "a propaganda initiative from China" that brings an "enormous amount of foreign interference", while arguing that "Victoria needs to explain why it is the only state in the country that has entered into this agreement". Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Victoria was stepping into federal government policy territory, stating "We didn't support that decision at the time made . National interest issues on foreign affairs are determined by the federal government, and I respect their jurisdiction when it comes to the issues they're responsible for, and it's always been the usual practice for states to respect and recognise the role of the federal government in setting foreign policy". In April 2021, Foreign Minister Marise Payne declared Australia would pull out of the Belt and Road Initiative, cancelling Victoria's agreements signed with China, and pulling out of the "Belt and Road" initiative completely. The federal government's decision to veto the deal reflected the increasingly soured relationship between the Australian Government and the Chinese Government, after China's alleged attempts to employ economic coercion in response to the Australian Government's support for an inquest into the origins of COVID-19, as well as the Australian Government's decision to support the US in several regional disputes opposing China, such as the issue of Taiwan or the South China Sea.
In October 2024, Brazil opted against joining the BRI.
Accusations of neo-colonialism and debt-trap diplomacy
Main article: Debt-trap diplomacy
Accusations
Some, including Western governments, have accused the Belt and Road Initiative of being a form of neo-colonialism, due to what they allege is China's practice of debt-trap diplomacy to fund the initiative's infrastructure projects. The concept of debt-trap diplomacy was first coined by an Indian think tank, the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, before being picked up and expanded on by papers by two Harvard students, which subsequently gained media attention in the mainstream press.
China contends that the initiative has provided markets for commodities, improved prices of resources, and thereby reduced inequalities in exchange, improved infrastructure, created employment, stimulated industrialization, and expanded technology transfer, thereby benefiting host countries.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli said the loan agreements of BRI projects in his country were "exploitative and awkward". He said Chinese financiers set "tough conditions that can only be accepted by mad people," because his government was asked to give them a guarantee of 33 years and an extensive lease of 99 years on a port construction. Magufuli said Chinese contractors wanted to take the land as their own, but his government had to compensate them for drilling the project construction.
In May 2021, DRC's President Félix Tshisekedi called for a review of mining contracts signed with China by his predecessor Joseph Kabila, in particular, the Sicomines multibillion-dollar 'minerals-for-infrastructure' agreement. China's plans to link its western Xinjiang province to Gwadar in the Balochistan province of Pakistan with its US$500m investment in the Gwadar Port has met resistance from local fishermen protesting against Chinese trawlers and illegal fishing.
Rebuttals
Deborah Bräutigam, a professor at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, described the debt-trap diplomacy theory as a "meme" that became popular due to "human negativity bias" based on anxiety about the rise of China. A 2019 research paper by Bräutigam revealed that most of the debtor countries voluntarily signed on to the loans and had positive experiences working with China, and "the evidence so far, including the Sri Lankan case, shows that the drumbeat of alarm about Chinese banks' funding of infrastructure across the BRI and beyond is overblown" and "a large number of people have favorable opinions of China as an economic model and consider China an attractive partner for their development." She said that the theory lacked evidence and criticized the media for promoting a narrative that "wrongfully misrepresents the relationship between China and the developing countries that it deals with," highlighting the fact that Sri Lanka owed more to Japan, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank than to China. A 2018 China Africa Research Initiative report, co-authored by Bräutigam, remarked that "Chinese loans are not currently a major contributor to debt distress in Africa."
According to New York-based economist Anastasia Papadimitriou, partnering countries are equally responsible when making deals with China. China's alleged "neocolonialist intentions" can be disproved by Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port project on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka, one of the most cited examples of debt-trap diplomacy. After an analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative, Papadimitriou concludes that it is "not so much neocolonialism, rather it is economic regionalism". Additionally, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, a London-based international affairs think tank, asserted that the debt crisis in Sri Lanka was unrelated to Chinese lending, but was instead caused mainly from "the misconduct of local elites and Western-dominated financial markets". It was confirmed by Lowy Institute. A 2019 report by the Lowy Institute said that China had not engaged in deliberate actions in the Pacific which justified accusations of debt-trap diplomacy (based on contemporaneous evidence), and China had not been the primary driver behind rising debt risks in the Pacific; the report expressed concern about the scale of the country's lending, however, and the institutional weakness of Pacific states which posed the risk of small states being overwhelmed by debt. A 2020 Lowy Institute article called Sri Lanka's Hambantota International Port the "case par excellence" for China's debt-trap diplomacy, but called the narrative a "myth" because the project was proposed by former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, not Beijing. The article added that Sri Lanka's debt distress was not caused by Chinese lending, but by "excessive borrowing on Western-dominated capital markets."
The Rhodium Group, an American research company, analyzed Chinese debt renegotiations and concluded that China's leverage in them are often exaggerated and realistically limited in power. The findings of their study frequently showed an outcome in favor of the borrower rather than the supposedly predatory Chinese lender. The firm found that "asset seizures are a very rare occurrence" and that instead debt write-off was the most common outcome.
Darren Lim, senior lecturer at the Australian National University, said that the debt-trap diplomacy claim was never credible, despite the first Trump administration pushing it. Dawn C. Murphy, Professor of International Security Studies at the USAF Air War College, concludes that describing China's behavior as "neocolonialist" is an "exaggeration and misrepresentation".
According to political scientist and researcher Zhexin Zhang, the overwhelming enthusiasm of developing countries in the Belt and Road Initiative, as seen first in the "Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" held in May 2017, is sufficient to invalidate the neo-colonialism argument.
A March 2018 study released by the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank, remarks that between 2001 and 2017, China restructured or waived loan payments for 51 debtor nations, the majority of BRI participants, without seizing state assets. The study concluded that in most cases, it was unlikely that there would be severe problems with debt. In September 2018, W. Gyude Moore, a former Liberian public works minister and senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, stated that "he language of "debt-trap diplomacy" resonates more in Western countries, especially the United States, and is rooted in anxiety about China's rise as a global power rather than in the reality of Africa." He also stated that "China has been a net positive partner with most African countries." According to Pradumna Bickram Rana and Jason Ji Xianbai of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, although there is a number of implementation issues confronting the Belt and Road Initiative mostly due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, China's alleged debt-trap diplomacy "more myth than reality". While they acknowledge that various countries are facing difficulties in paying their debts to China, they highlight China's willingness to help these countries restructure their debt through forgiving policies, such as partial debt relief. In eleven cases, China postponed loans for indebted countries, one being Tonga.
Writing in 2023, academic Süha Atatüre stated that United States opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative stems from the fact that it lacks the capacity to implement a rival project.
Publishing in 2023, academic Austin Strange concludes that scholars have challenged the narrative of a Chinese debt-trap and that analysis of BRI projects does not substantiate the debt-trap narrative. On the issue of criticism of the BRI more broadly, Strange writes that unintended negative consequences can result from global infrastructure projects generally (citing examples of issues arising from overseas projects by Japan and South Korea) and are not a BRI-specific or China-specific challenge.
Academics Yan Hairong and Barry Sautman stated in a 2024 study that the debt-trap narrative is incorrect, as China does not foreclose on borrower assets.
London School of Economics Professor Keyu Jin writes that the claim that China leads borrowers into a debt trap is misleading. Jin observes that the majority of BRI countries' debt is owed to international organizations or private institutions like hedge funds, rather than to China. Jin also writes that China has written off many of its loans and also provided debt relief to borrowers.
Country-specific
Through the BRI, China has a major role in infrastructure development in Cambodia. In 2017, China financed approximately 70% of Cambodia's road and bridge development. China built a major expressway between Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh, which began operating in 2023. As of at least 2024, the expressway is the largest BRI project in Cambodia.
Chinese leadership describes Ethiopia as a bridge between the Belt and Road Initiative and Africa's development, stating that the relationship between the two countries is a model of South-South cooperation and "a pilot program for China-Africa production capacity cooperation."
Greece hosts the most successful BRI port project as of at least 2024, the port at Piraeus. The port's incorporation as part of the BRI has been one of the mechanisms through which China has strengthened its relationship with Greece, following the increased strain in the European Union-Greece relationship after Greece's bailout.
As of at least 2024, Hungary and Serbia are also two of the major European supporters of the BRI.
Italy was the only G7 country which had been a partner in the development of the BRI, having been involved since March 2019, but in July 2023 declared its intention to quit the BRI. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that the project was not of any real benefit to Italy's economy.
The China-Laos Railway is one of the most sectorally integrated of the major BRI projects. It has brought together expertise in large-scale engineering, finance, construction, and economic design. The Boten-Ventiane Railway is the Laos section of the broader railway, which is in turn part of the China-Laos Economic Corridor. The railway's high speed trains travel at 160 km per hour and have reduced travel time from Ventiane to Luang Prabang to two hours, down from a day or more before the railway.
Due to its opposition to the Gwadar Port City in Pakistan, in 2019 the Baloch Liberation Army targeted Chinese nationals in an attack at the Pearl-Continental Hotel.
During a November 2024 visit by Xi to Peru, Boluarte and Xi celebrated the opening of the Chancay port, which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Xi described the port as the beginning of a new maritime-land corridor between China and Latin America. The port was built by COSCO Shipping Ports.
In Thailand, the public views BRI projects, particularly railways, positively.
Belt and Road educational policy
Along with policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade and financial integration, people-to-people bonds are among the five major goals of BRI. BRI educational component implies mutual recognition of qualifications, academic mobility and student exchanges, coordination on education policy, life-long learning, and development of joint study programmes. To this end, Xi Jinping announced plan to allocate funds for additional 30,000 scholarships for SCO citizens and 10,000 scholarships for the students and teachers along the Road. The Silk Road Scholarship is part of China's broader agenda of increasing academic and cultural cooperation with BRI-participating countries.
Among the BRI cooperation priorities is also strengthening people-to-people ties through academic mobility, research cooperation, and student exchanges. Since the beginning of the BRI, China has occupied a key role in shaping how academic, and skilled migration in general, develops along the BRI and increased efforts to attract and retain foreign talents.
The University Alliance of the Silk Road centered at Xi'an Jiaotong University aims to support the Belt and Road initiative with research and engineering. A French think tank, Fondation France Chine (France-China Foundation), focused on the study of the New Silk Roads, was launched in 2018. It is described as pro–Belt and Road Initiative and pro-China.
See also
- Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation
- Asia-Africa Growth Corridor
- Asian Highway Network
- Blue Banana
- Blue Dot Network – counter-initiative by the United States
- Build Back Better World – counter-initiative by the G7
- India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
- China-Arab States Cooperation Forum
- Eurasian Land Bridge
- Eurasia Continental Bridge corridor
- Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
- Golden Banana
- International North–South Transport Corridor
- Southern Ocean – See Category: Ports and harbors of Antarctica
- Ports of the Baltic Sea
- Channel Ports – ports and harbours of the English Channel
- List of North Sea ports – ports of the North Sea and its influent rivers
- List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea
Notes
References
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It has been lauded as a visionary project among key participants such as China and Pakistan, but has received a critical reaction, arguably a poorly thought out one, in nonparticipant countries such as the United States and India (see various discussions in Ferdinand 2016, Kennedy and Parker 2015, Godement and Kratz, 2015, Li 2015, Rolland 2015, Swaine 2015).
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Further reading
Library resources aboutBelt and Road Initiative
- Blanchard, Jean-Marc F. (2021). "Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Blues: Powering BRI Research Back on Track to Avoid Choppy Seas". Journal of Chinese Political Science. 26: 235–255. doi:10.1007/s11366-020-09717-0. S2CID 230718702.
- Cai, Peter. Understanding China's belt and road initiative (Lowy Institute 2017) online Archived 18 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
- Calabrese, L. (2019): Making the Belt and Road Initiative work for Africa. London: Overseas Development Institute.
- Calabrese, L. (2019): China and global development: what to read ahead of the Belt and Road Forum. London: Overseas Development Institute.
- Chansok, L. (2019): The Belt and Road Initiative and Cambodia's Infrastructure Connectivity Development: A Cambodian Perspective. Cheung FM and Hong Y-Y (eds) Regional Connection under the Belt and Road Initiative. The prospects for Economic and Financial Cooperation. London: Routledge, pp. 134–163.
- Chen, Yaowen, et al. "Does the Connectivity of the Belt and Road Initiative Contribute to the Economic Growth of the Belt and Road Countries?." Emerging Markets Finance and Trade 55.14 (2019): 3227–3240.
- Contessi, Nicola P. (2016). "Central Asia in Asia: Charting Growing Transregional Linkages". Journal of Eurasian Studies. 7: 3–13. doi:10.1016/j.euras.2015.11.001.
- Chaudhuri (周士理), Debasish (2018). "Book Review: Revitalising the Silk Road—China's Belt and Road Initiative by Richard T. Griffiths". China Report. 54 (2): 248–251. doi:10.1177/0009445518761158. S2CID 220052430. online review.
- He, Baogang. "Chinese expanded perceptions of the region and its changing attitudes toward the Indo-Pacific: A hybrid vision of the institutionalization of the Indo-Pacific." East Asia 35.2 (2018): 117–132.
- Ito, Asei. "China's Belt and Road Initiative and Japan's Response: from Non-participation to Conditional Engagement." East Asia 36.2 (2019): 115–128.
- Jones, Lee; Zeng, Jinghan (2019). "Understanding China's 'Belt and Road Initiative': Beyond 'grand strategy' to a state transformation analysis". Third World Quarterly. 40 (8): 1415–1439. doi:10.1080/01436597.2018.1559046. S2CID 159210202.
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- World Pensions Council (WPC) policy paper: Chinese Revolution Could Lure Overseas Investment, Dow Jones Financial News, 12 October 2015.
- The New York Times – "Behind China's $1 Trillion Plan", 13 May 2017.
External links
[REDACTED] Media related to One Belt, One Road at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website by State Council
- Official website by Office of the Leading Group for the Belt and Road Initiative
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