Everything you need to know about China's Belt and Road Initiative

In Pakistan, a new roadway has been built. also a brand-new rail station in Kazakhstan. A maritime port has been opened recently in Sri Lanka, additionally a bridge in rural Laos. All of these infrastructure projects are typical, but what makes them noteworthy is because they are all a part of a single country's initiative that spans three continents and affects more than 60% of the world's population.

If we connect the dots, it becomes obvious that the nation is China. The largest infrastructure undertaking in modern history is China's Belt and Road Initiative. BRI is a massive plan to connect China with the rest of the globe by networks of ports, roads, railroads, and other infrastructure.

Silk Road

The main endeavor was launched in 2013, when president Xi Jin Ping stated in a speech in Kazakhstan that they wanted to create a trade route modeled like the historic Silk Road. The first Silk Road was created during the westward expansion of China's Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), which established trade networks throughout what are now the Central Asian nations of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as modern-day India and Pakistan to the south. These routes went more than 4,000 miles to Europe. The immensely profitable trade in silk textiles, which were virtually exclusively made in China, gave rise to the moniker of the Silk Road. The Silk Road saw various empires rise and fall during the course of its roughly 1,500-year existence, as well as other significant catastrophes like the Black Death and the Mongol conquests. When the Ottoman Empire cut off trade with the West in 1453 A.D., it came to an end.

What is BRI?

Actually BRI weaves together a lot of projects. There are overland routes that connect China to Central and South Asia, 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. About it Xi Jin Ping mentioned in 2013 right after one month of his speech in Kazakhstan. In a speech in Indonesia he said, "The two sides should work together to build a maritime silk road for the 21st century."

Over 60 nations are said to have signed agreements for these projects thus far. Due to China's promotion of it as a win-win situation for all parties, the list is expanding. Consider Pakistan; the BRI's flagship project. Pakistan's economy is stagnating and it has a corruption issue, just like many other countries in Central and South Asia. Until China arrived, it wasn't a popular location for foreign investment. China proposed in 2001 to develop a brand-new port in the sleepy fishing village of Gwadar. The port, along with the highway and railroad networks, became a $62 billion Corridor within the BRI by 2018. It is the intersection of the Maritime Silk Road and the Economic Belt. And it appeared to be advantageous for both nations. Pakistan saw its highest GDP growth in 8 years and forged a tight relationship with a major world power. China, on the other hand, secured a new alternative route for goods, especially, oil and gas from the Middle East.

Total investment

Chinese engagement through financial investments and contractual cooperation for the year 2021 in the 144 countries of the Belt and Road Initiative was about US$59.5 billion. Of this engagement, about US$13.9 billion was through investment, and US$45.6 billion through contracts (partly financed by Chinese loans). Morgan Stanley has predicted China’s overall expenses over the life of the BRI could reach $1.2–1.3 trillion by 2027, though estimates on total investments vary. 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%.

Intentions of China

China has both geopolitical and economic motivations behind the initiative. China is emerging as a new world superpower. And China's strategy is based on economic dominancy. China has rivalry with the US. The vast majority of Chinese international trade passes by sea through the Malacca strait off the coast of Singapore which is a major US ally. The initiative is integral to China’s efforts to create its own more secure trade routes. China also has intention to keep and economic influence on the other countries of the world that's why they are inviting more and more countries to join the initiative. And it is a win-win situation for every country who joins it.

But let's look at the other side of the coin. We all know that China has a bad accusation for "Debt trap diplomacy." For example, The Hambantota Port Development project was funded by Chinese loans, which the Sri Lankan government was unable to repay. As a result, the port was given to the Chinese on a 99-year lease in 2017—echoing strategies used by European Imperialists to subjugate Qing dynasty China in the 19th century. And looking closely we will notice that there are many developing, undemocratic, corrupted and third world countries in the project and there's a risk that they will not be able to repay the loan. It’s even affiliated with Afghanistan, Ukraine, Yemen, and Iraq; all currently splintered by conflict. This is part of a wider issue of the opaque nature of the Belt and Road and the loans on which it is built. The Chinese government has never published detailed information about the size and terms of Belt and Road loans. This vacuum of information feeds confusion and mistrust.

China also controls the strategic port in Pakistan - where it has a 40-year lease, It’s pushing for a similar agreement in Myanmar, and it just opened an actual Chinese naval base in Djibouti. These are all signs of what’s called the String of Pearls theory. It predicts that China is trying to establish a string of naval bases in the Indian Ocean that will allow it to station ships and guard shipping routes that move through the region, while China’s not getting its money back, its still achieving some very important strategic goals.

To sum it up all, where US is approaching with ideological diplomacy and Russia with aggressive invasion; China is advancing very calmly with long term economic plan which will create trade dependency on China for every nation. China’s growing influence challenges the status of the US and China is well on its way to take control of the globe.