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Is China BRI Losing Momentum – Free PDF Download

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Published On October 4th, 2021 Leave a comment

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The News

Belt and Road Initiative formerly known as One Belt One Road (OBOR) is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013.
China has so far engaged with more than 140 countries and 30 international organisations in the BRI.
Infrastructure projects include ports, railways, highways, power stations, aviation and telecommunications

Belt and Road Initiative

BRI losing momentum

President Xi Jinping launched BRI in 2013, aiming to harness China’s strengths in financing and infrastructure construction to “build a broad community of shared interests” throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America.
But Xi’s “project of the century” is now facing major challenges and significant backlashes abroad, according to a study by AidData

BRI losing momentum

Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has put a break on fast overseas expansion of BRI in its 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP) for 2021 to 2025.
China plans to invest $550 billion which is 25% down from $740 billion pledged in the 2016-2020 period.

BRI losing momentum

The AidData has looked at 13,427 China-backed projects in 165 countries over 8 years whose worth is $843 billion in total.
AidData notes that Beijing’s annual international development finance commitments are now double those of the United States.
AidData paper highlights that
- $11.58 billion in projects in Malaysia have been cancelled over 2013-2021
- $1.5 billion worth projects cancelled in Kazakhstan
- More than a $1 billion worth projects are cancelled in Bolivia
However, China’s foreign ministry has said that “not all debts are unsustainable“.

BRI losing momentum

The AidData study also said an increasing number of China-backed projects have been suspended or cancelled since BRI’s 2013 due to evidence of “buyer’s remorse“.
- Ex: Kazakhstan, Costa Rica, Cameroon
Credit risks have increased, with the exposure to Chinese debt now exceeding 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) in many LDCs.
The report has found that 35% of Belt and Road projects are struggling with corruption, labour violations, environmental pollution and public protests.