What is China's Belt and Road Initiative? | Start Here

Think of the BRI as both a massive trade network and a political vision. It started with a speech that President Xi Jinping made back in Kazakhstan in 2013. He talked about building a new trade route based on the old Silk Road — an ancient network that linked Asia, the Middle East and Europe for almost 2,000 years. The Belt and Road Initiative basically weaves together lots of projects. It could be China building things from scratch, upgrading existing infrastructure, handing out loans or making investments. There are overland routes that connect China to central and south Asia, the Middle East and Europe. That's the "belt". It includes what's called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor where around $60 billion are being spent on things like coal and hydro power plants, wind farms, highways and a new high-speed rail link between Peshawar and Karachi. Then there's the "road" part which is slightly confusing because it actually refers to a maritime Silk Road — sea routes that connect China to Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. It includes major investments in ports across the world — places like Sri Lanka, Dubai, Djibouti, Greece and Spain. Even as far as Peru. Now we listed some of the big examples but BRI specifics are hard to come by. There's actually no confirmed list of everything and everyone involved but it's estimated to include 2,600 projects in more than 100 countries. And that makes it hard to come up with an accurate price tag. So what's the endgame here? Well, for China the BRI is obviously about trade. But all this global interconnectedness and the huge amount of money involved means the Belt and Road Initiative is also political. By building all this stuff China is also exporting its version of economic development. Now, the way the West has usually done it is to provide economic support but with conditions attached like certain democratic reforms. China's style is different. The World Bank reckons that China's BRI projects could lift more than 7 million people out of extreme poverty and that transport projects could boost global trade by up to 6.2%. And, of course, there are lots of countries eager to take China's money. Djibouti is one example. Its BRI projects include a major port, a new railway line to the Ethiopian capital and a gas pipeline. China's put up around $14 billion in investments and loans for Djibouti between 2012 and 2020. But there are risks — like corruption. Especially because there's so much secrecy surrounding most of these BRI deals. So, it's politicians making these deals and there are plenty of examples of ordinary people losing out. Another thing to remember is that with all the talk of Chinese money funding these projects it's often more accurate to say that it's actually Chinese loans. And that creates another risk — that some countries could be taking on too much debt. Remember Djibouti? It's facing what the World Bank calls "debt distress". Its debt to China amounts to 70% of its GDP. And look at Sri Lanka. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa borrowed billions to develop a massive new port. When Sri Lanka struggled to pay back the money it ended up with a new deal that gave China control of the port for 99 years. That led to accusations that the loans compromised Sri Lanka's sovereignty, which China denies. But it's this kind of thing that's led to some people calling the Belt and Road Initiative a "debt trap for vulnerable countries". Others disagree. And it seems this success has got Western powers, especially the United States, paying more attention. At the recent G7 summit they set out their own plan, complete with its own snazzy abbreviation — B3W which stands for Build Back Better World. They're emphasizing things like transparency, good governance, the environment and bringing in the private sector to help fund it all. But B3W is thin on details. There's no budget and no timetable. Now, one way to look at all this is that it's another area of competition between China and the West. But maybe there's another way to look at it. If China and the West are competing that could give more choice, more opportunity and crucially more money to developing countries that desperately need it. The Belt and Road Initiative is about China's position in the world. It's their strategy to outshine everyone on the international stage. But some countries really don't like the idea of the Chinese calling the shots. If you want to know more there are lots of reports from Al Jazeera correspondents about Belt and Road projects from around the world. You can find those on YouTube or on our website. See you next week.

Channel: Al Jazeera English

Views: 648,071

Keywords: al jazeera, al jazeera start here, asia trade, belt and road, belt and road china, belt and road intiative, belt and road intiative china, belt and road intiative europe, bri initiative china, china belt and road, china belt and road intiative, china highway, china one belt one road, china silk road, chinese money, construction, innfrastruture investment, one belt one road initiative, project of the century, silk road trade, small countries, start here, silk road

Id: j8zzL2aBo2M

Length: 9min 44sec (584 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 07 2021