_An insight into the Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched by China in 2013, with an aim to revive the great Silk Road as well as provide a new platform for multilateral cooperation to create new trade routes, economic links and business networks.
Six economic corridors have been identified from China to Central and South Asia, the Middle East and Europe (the Silk Road Economic Belt) and, along a maritime route, from Southeast Asia, Oceania to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe (the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road).
Spanning across 69 countries and encompassing around 60% of the world’s population and 40% of global GDP, the blueprint is also a collection of interlinking trade deals and infrastructure projects, set to be mutually beneficial to BRI countries and China.
As one of BRI’s goals is to further stimulate Chinese economic growth, expanding demand overseas will be crucial as the project will open new markets for Chinese goods and services, shoring up the country’s economy against any potential slowdown in domestic demand as well as the potential rise of protectionism in other countries.
"Belt and Road in Numbers:
69 countries | 60% of the world’s population | 40% of the world’s GDP | US$900 billion of investment projected"
A significant number of participating BRI countries are undergoing rapid modernisation and urbanisation leading to soaring demand for roads, railways, ports, airports, pipelines, and technology infrastructure.
In addition to infrastructure investment, the increased connectivity of some of the less developed markets will lead to increased commercial opportunities, helping integrate these nations with the wider, global economy.
Funding for this vast initiative is coming via a number of routes, including multilateral sources such as the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Silk Road Fund, in addition to allocations from the large state-owned banks. Ratings agency Fitch has estimated there to be US$900 billion of infrastructure project finance pledged to the initiative.
Notable projects underway across the BRI markets, include Gwadar Port in Pakistan, large sections of the Kunming-Singapore railway link, the Khorgos dry port between China and Kazakhstan along with the first freight trains from China to Tehran and London.
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