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.