Global InformationBelt and Road Initiative information
 Belt and Road Initiative and related projects | |
| Abbreviation | BRI |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2013 2017 (Forum) 2019 (Forum) 2023 (Forum) |
| Founder |  People's Republic of China |
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | Promote economic development and inter-regional connectivity |
| Location |
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| 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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Politics of China |
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State representative
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 China portal
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The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R[1]), known in China as the One Belt One Road[a] sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road,[2] is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations.[3] 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.
Xi 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. [4]
It is considered a centerpiece of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping's foreign policy.[5] The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy"[b] strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role in global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status.[6] It has been compared to the American Marshall Plan. As of early 2024, more than 140 countries were part of the BRI.[7]: 20 The participating countries include almost 75% of the world's population and account for more than half of the world's GDP.[8]: 192
The initiative was incorporated into the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017.[5] The Xi Jinping Administration describes the initiative as "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future."[9] The project has a target completion date of 2049,[10] 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.[11][12] 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.[13][14][15]
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.[16]
- ^ "Wǒ wěi děng yǒuguān bùmén guīfàn "Yīdài Yīlù" chàngyì Yīngwén yì fǎ" 我委等有关部门规范"一带一路"倡议英文译法 [Regulations on the English translation of "Belt and Road" Initiative by our Commission and related departments]. ndrc.gov.cn (in Chinese (China)). National Development and Reform Commission. 11 May 2019. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ "China's Massive Belt and Road Initiative".
- ^ "Belt and Road Initiative". World Bank. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ Kuo, Lily; Kommenda, Niko. "What is China's Belt and Road Initiative?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ a b "The pandemic is hurting China's Belt and Road Initiative". The Economist. 4 June 2020. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ Smith, Stephen (16 February 2021). "China's Major Country Diplomacy". Foreign Policy Analysis. 17 (2): orab002. doi:10.1093/fpa/orab002. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Caridi, Giorgio (2023). "BRI's Digital Silk Road and the EU: The Role of Innovation and Communication in the Italian Case Study". China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace. Mher Sahakyan. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-003-35258-7. OCLC 1353290533.
- ^ "China unveils action plan on Belt and Road Initiative". Gov.cn. Xinhua. 28 March 2015. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "CrowdReviews Partnered with Strategic Marketing & Exhibitions to Announce: One Belt, One Road Forum". PR.com. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ "China's Belt and Road Initiative and the global chemical industry - KPMG Global". KPMG. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Belt and Road Initiative". World Bank. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Belt and Road Initiative to boost world GDP by over $7 trillion per annum by 2040". CEBR. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "New report on the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative predicts boost to global GDP "by over $7 trillion per annum"". CIOB. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "China's giant Belt and Road infrastructure push 'could pump $7 trillion into global GDP' by 2040". CityAM. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Brautigam 2020was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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