Belt and Road Initiative – Recent developments

Introduction: In 2013, President Xi Jinping first introduced China’s Belt and Road Initiative (“BRI”) to the world.[1]  It was seen as an endeavour to re-establish China’s place at the centre of the economic and geopolitical arena. Yet, what first began as a project to revive the ancient silk road’s prosperity by building a Silk Road Economic Belt (on land) in tandem with a 21^st-Century Maritime Silk Road, has now expanded to include partner countries all over the globe with five major priorities: (i) policy coordination; (ii) infrastructure connectivity; (iii) unimpeded trade; (iv) financial integration; and (v) connecting people. 

[1] Publication by China’s Ministry of Commerce on 24 January 2022, accessed 30 March 2022.  

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