China’s leadership has never shied away from ambitious projects designed to increase the country’s economic and political power.
Its biggest gamble to date is its US$1 trillion (£787bn) investment in a massive transport infrastructure project that has stunned its geopolitical rivals.
In 2013, President Xi Jinping launched China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), sometimes known as the New Silk Road.
The mega-project was originally devised to link East Asia and Europe through physical infrastructure.
Xi initially envisioned creating vast railways, energy pipelines and highway networks.
These would run both westward—through the mountainous former Soviet republics – and southward to Pakistan, India, and the rest of Southeast Asia.
Later in 2013, at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia, the Chinese leader revealed plans for the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road.
Beijing promised to invest in port developments along the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to East Africa and parts of Europe, in a bid to accommodate expanding maritime trade traffic.
China’s plans have been warmly received around the globe, with some 147 countries —accounting for two-thirds of the world’s population and 40% of global GDP —having signed on to projects or indicating an interest in doing so.
Beijing has reapped huge economic benefits in trade as a result of its BRI initiative.
A raft of agreements gave access to more resources, such as oil, gas, and minerals, especially as the BRI’s focus widened to include Africa, South America, and the Middle East.
Additionally, about $19.1tn (£15tn) of goods were traded between China and BRI countries in the past decade.
The BRI has helped China diversify and expand its export markets at a time when it faces greater tensions with the West and its allies.
It has also allowed Beijing to politically isolate Taiwan – a country over which China claims sovereignty.
In a report, the IISS think tank noted that many nations that have shifted recognition from Taiwan to China in the past decade are BRI funding recipients.
