Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

BRI is an infrastructure connecting link launched by China in 2013.
It used to connect the Asian continent with African, Central Asian countries, and Europe.
It is modeled in the ancient Silk Route and Sea Route.
It spread over 150 countries.
It involves roadways, railways, port development like Gwador port in Pakistan, power grids, and gas pipelines.
Major Pillars of the Project
- Policy coordination
- Trade promotion
- Physical connectivity
- Renminbi internationalization
- People-to-people contacts.

Major Routes of BRI

Ancient Silk Route – Connect north of China; by reaching out to Eurasia including a link via Myanmar to India.
Maritime Silk Road (MSR) – It begins via the South China Sea going towards Indo-China, Southeast Asia, and then around the Indian Ocean thus reaching Africa and Europe.

Pic Credit – Silk Road Briefing

Recent Development Related to BRI

Italy also taking steps to move out of it.
Initially, Rome came out from the BRI project.
In April 2023 European Union – China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment(CAI) collapsed.
2022 – The Baltic countries like Latvia and Estonia quit the 17+1 agreement with China 17+1 agreement is China’s diplomatic push in Central and Eastern European countries.
2021 – Lithuania walked out of the project.

Other Development Measures to Counter BRI

B3W Initiative – Proposed by G7 countries that aim to address the infrastructure investment deficit in developing and lower-income countries.
Blue Dot Network (BDN) – It is a multi-stakeholder initiative formed by the US, Japan, and Australia to bring together governments, the private sector, and civil society to promote high-quality, trusted standards for global infrastructure development.
Global Gateway – Initiated by the European Union(EU) for infrastructure projects in the region and minimizing China’s influence.
Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment(PGII) – As a countermeasure to China’s debt trap diplomacy western country like the USA has initiated infrastructure projects like Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment(PGII).

India’s Stand on Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)

India does not support BRI and declined an invitation from China.
BRI passes through Indian territory illegally held by Pakistan in the name of the China – Pakistan Economic Corridor with multiple modern highway and rail projects.