What is Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)?
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a strategy initiated by the People’s Republic of China that seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth. The project involves building a big network of roadways, railways, maritime ports, power grids, oil and gas pipelines, and associated infrastructure projects.
The name was coined in 2013 by China’s President Xi Jinping, who drew inspiration from the concept of the Silk Road established during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago – an ancient network of trade routes that connected China to the Mediterranean via Eurasia for centuries. The BRI has also been referred to in the past as ‘One Belt One Road’.
What does the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) comprise?
The BRI comprises:
1 . A Silk Road Economic Belt – a trans-continental passage that links China with south east Asia, south Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe by land
2 . A 21st century Maritime Silk Road, a sea route connecting China’s coastal regions with south east and south Asia, the South Pacific, the Middle East and Eastern Africa, all the way to Europe.
What are the major priorities of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)?
The initiative defines five major priorities:
• policy coordination;
• infrastructure connectivity;
• unimpeded trade;
• financial integration;
• and connecting people.
The BRI has been associated with a very large programme of investments in infrastructure development for ports, roads, railways and airports, as well as power plants and telecommunications networks.
How many corridors are included in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)?
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) contains the following six economic corridors:
1 . The New Eurasian Land Bridge, which connects Western China to Western Russia
2 . The China-Mongolia-Russia Corridor, which connects North China to Eastern Russia via Mongolia
3 . The China-Central Asia-West Asia Corridor, which connects Western China to Turkey via Central and West Asia
4 . The China-Indochina Peninsula Corridor, which connects Southern China to Singapore via Indo-China
5 . The China-Pakistan Corridor, which connects South Western China through Pakistan to Arabia sea routes
6 . The Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Corridor, which connects Southern China to India via Bangladesh and Myanmar
Additionally, the maritime Silk Road connects coastal China to the Mediterranean via Singapore-Malaysia, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz.
How many countries have signed up to the BRI?
As of August 2023, 155 countries were listed as having signed up to the BRI. The participating countries include almost 75% of the world’s population and account for more than half of the world’s GDP.
What potential opportunities does the initiative present?
If completed, BRI transport projects could reduce travel times along economic corridors by 12%, increase trade between 2.7% and 9.7%, increase income by up to 3.4% and lift 7.6 million people from extreme poverty.
What is the importance of OBOR’s initiative for China?
OBOR is of prime significance to China as it aims to boost its domestic growth and is also a part of the country’s strategy for economic diplomacy.
By connecting the less-developed border regions like Xinjiang with neighboring nations, China expects to bump up economic activity.
OBOR is expected to open up and create new markets for Chinese goods. It would also enable the manufacturing powerhouse to gain control of cost-effective routes to export materials easily.
Any excess capacity in terms of production can be channelized effectively to regions along OBOR routes.
China has announced investments of over $1 trillion in the various infrastructure projects and is funding them by offering low-cost loans to the participating countries.
China sees this venture as an opportunity to emerge as a regional leader. In the future, we may see a boost in the Chinese yuan, with increased usage in the OBOR region.
What is the perception of other nations about OBOR?
While China continues to pitch OBOR as an all-inclusive project for regional development, other nations perceive it as a strategic move by the Asian powerhouse to attain significance and control at a regional level and to play a larger role at the global level by building and controlling a China-focused trading network.
What risks are involved with BRI projects?
The BRI presents risks common to many major infrastructure projects: debt risks, governance risks (corruption and procurement), stranded infrastructure, environmental risks and social risks.
What Is the Silk Route?
The Silk Route was a historic trade route that dated from the second century B.C. until the 14th century A.D.
It stretched from Asia to the Mediterranean, traversing China, India, Persia, Arabia, Greece, and Italy.
It was dubbed the Silk Route because of the heavy silk trading that took place during that period. This valuable fabric originated in China, which initially had a monopoly on silk production until the secrets of its creation spread.
In addition to silk, the route facilitated the trade of other fabrics, spices, grains, fruits and vegetables, animal hides, wood and metal work, precious stones, and other items of value.
In 2013, China announced plans it would revive the Silk Route, connecting it with more than 60 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
INDIA AND OBOR
Why is India unwilling to join OBOR?
■ India’s unwillingness to join OBOR is largely due to the projection of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a flagship project of OBOR, which it believes undermines its sovereignty.
The CPEC connects Kashgar in China’s with the Gwadar port in the volatile Baluchistan province of Pakistan. However, the corridor goes through the controversial Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan region.
India thinks any formal nod to the project will serve as a de-facto legitimization to Pakistan’s rights on PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan region.
■ The project has wide geostrategic implications in South Asia. India because of its size, economic and military strength and stature in the world is considered as a leader in the region. For long, it enjoyed its position of influence uncontested.
However, India’s neighbours, mostly small countries with large numbers of poor population, are under pressure of developing their socio-economic status and for which they need large capital which they do not have. Taking the benefit of this China is investing strategically in the projects that provide legitimacy to the ‘street of pearl’ hypothesis, which aims to encircle India.
■ It will be naïve for India to overlook the political considerations that have drawn its neighbours to China. For most of the regional countries, India had been a consideration in their China policy. The Indian neighbours are playing the China card to counterbalance India in the region.
■ Further, there are issues of security. Both the countries have disputed borders and they have already fought a war against each other.
■ Several insurgents groups in the northeast are getting support from China. Moreover, China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh has complicated the issue further.
■ Since most of the money invested in OBOR will be in the form of loans, India is also wary about the economic ramification of the project. For example, the indebtedness issue has already begun to create problems in Sri Lanka and Central Asia.
■ Moreover, the OBOR plan lacks transparency and little consultation has been made on the issue. Hence, it is difficult to get away from the impression that OBOR investments are by China and for China.
