A freight train carrying goods destined for Europe. (Image: Getty)
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 launched China’s (BRI), sometimes known as the New Silk Road.
The mega-project was originally devised to link East and Europe through physical infrastructure.
The scheme has expanded to Africa, Oceania, and .
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Construction of a new highway that is part of the New Silk Road. (Image: MegaBuilds Youtube)
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, , 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.
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.
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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 , 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.