belt & road init
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative</font></a><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Belt and Road Initiative</b> (<b>BRI</b>, or <b>B&R</b><sup id="cite_ref-ndrc_751695_1-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-ndrc_751695-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup>), formerly known as <b>One Belt One Road</b> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language" title="Chinese language" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chinese</a>: <span lang="zh">一带一路</span>) or <b>OBOR</b> for short, is a global <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure" title="Infrastructure" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">infrastructure</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_development" title="Economic development" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">development</a> strategy adopted by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_China" title="Government of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chinese government</a> in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-1_2-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-1-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-2_3-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-2-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup> It is considered a centerpiece of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_China" class="mw-redirect" title="Communist Party of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Communist Party of China</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China" class="mw-redirect" title="General Secretary of the Communist Party of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">general secretary</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping" title="Xi Jinping" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Xi Jinping</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_of_Xi_Jinping" title="Foreign policy of Xi Jinping" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">foreign policy</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-:0-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Xi Jinping originally announced the strategy during official visits to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Indonesia</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan" title="Kazakhstan" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Kazakhstan</a> in 2013.</span><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> "Belt" refers to the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_transport" title="Land transport" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">overland routes</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> for </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_transport" title="Road transport" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">road</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and rail transportation, called "the </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Silk Road Economic Belt</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"; whereas "road" refers to the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_transport" title="Maritime transport" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">sea routes</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, or the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_Maritime_Silk_Road" title="21st Century Maritime Silk Road" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">21st Century Maritime Silk Road</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-what_9-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-what-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> It was incorporated into the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="Constitution of the People's Republic of China" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Constitution of the People's Republic of China</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> in 2017.</span><sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-1" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-:0-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Chinese government calls the initiative "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future".<sup id="cite_ref-centralGovernment_10-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-centralGovernment-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup> Some observers, in nonparticipant countries, interpret it as a plan for Chinese world domination<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span title="The material near this tag failed verification of its source citation(s). (September 2020)">failed verification</span></a></i>]</sup> through a China-centered global <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade" title="Trade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">trading</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_network" title="Transport network" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">network</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-comp1_11-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-comp1-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-comp2_12-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-comp2-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a></sup> The project has a target completion date of 2049,<sup id="cite_ref-pr_780645_13-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-pr_780645-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup> which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China" class="mw-redirect" title="People's Republic of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">People's Republic of China</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table;"><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Objectives" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;" /><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Objectives</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Background" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Background</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Project_name" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Project name</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#International_relations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">International relations</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Western_regions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Western regions</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Leadership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Leadership</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Financing" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Financing</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank(AIIB)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Silk_Road_Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Silk Road Fund</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Debt_sustainability" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Debt sustainability</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Infrastructure_networks" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Infrastructure networks</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Silk_Road_Economic_Belt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Silk Road Economic Belt</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#21st_Century_Maritime_Silk_Road" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">21st Century Maritime Silk Road</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Ice_Silk_Road" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Ice Silk Road</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Super_grid" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Super grid</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Additionally_proposed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Additionally proposed</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Projects" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Projects</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Ecological_issues" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Ecological issues</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Reactions_and_criticism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Reactions and criticism</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Support" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Support</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Opposition" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Opposition</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-image: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Accusations_of_neocolonialism_and_debt-trap" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6.2.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Accusations of neocolonialism and debt-trap</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Mixed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Mixed</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Research_institutions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Research institutions</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">8</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">See also</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">9</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-27" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#Further_reading" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">10</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Further reading</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-28" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">11</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">External links</span></font></a></li></ul></div><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Objectives">Objectives</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Background">Background</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=2" title="Edit section: Background" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The initiative was unveiled by Chinese <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramount_leader" title="Paramount leader" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">paramount leader</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping" title="Xi Jinping" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Xi Jinping</a> in September and October 2013 during visits to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan" title="Kazakhstan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kazakhstan</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Indonesia</a></b>,<sup id="cite_ref-english_281475092566_14-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-english_281475092566-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a></sup> and was thereafter promoted by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="Premier of the People's Republic of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Premier</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Keqiang" title="Li Keqiang" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Li Keqiang</a> during <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_visit" title="State visit" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">state visits</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Asia</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Europe</a>. The initiative was given intensive coverage by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_of_China#Official_media_channels" class="mw-redirect" title="Media of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chinese state media</a>, and by 2016 often being featured in the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Daily" title="People's Daily" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">People's Daily</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-3_15-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-3-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The stated objectives are "to construct a unified large market and make full use of both international and domestic markets, through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_exchange" class="mw-redirect" title="Cultural exchange" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">cultural exchange</a> and integration, to enhance mutual understanding and trust of member nations, ending up in an innovative pattern with capital inflows, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talent_pool" class="mw-redirect" title="Talent pool" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">talent pool</a>, and technology database."<sup id="cite_ref-uniview_16-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-uniview-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a></sup> The Belt and Road Initiative addresses an "infrastructure gap" and thus has potential to accelerate economic growth across the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Pacific" class="mw-redirect" title="Asia Pacific" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Asia Pacific</a> area, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" title="Africa" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Africa</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_and_Eastern_Europe" title="Central and Eastern Europe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Central and Eastern Europe</a>. A report from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Pensions%26_Investments_Forum" title="World Pensions & Investments Forum" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World Pensions Council (WPC)</a> estimates that Asia, excluding China, requires up to US$900 billion of infrastructure investments per year over the next decade, mostly in debt instruments, 50% above current infrastructure spending rates.<sup id="cite_ref-World_Bank_blog_17-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-World_Bank_blog-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a></sup> The gaping need for long term capital explains why many Asian and Eastern European heads of state "gladly expressed their interest to join this new international financial institution focusing solely on 'real assets' and infrastructure-driven economic growth".<sup id="cite_ref-Analyse_Financière_18-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Analyse_Financi%C3%A8re-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The initial focus has been infrastructure investment, education, construction materials, railway and highway, automobile, real estate, power grid, and iron and steel.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-4_19-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-4-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup> Already, some estimates list the Belt and Road Initiative as one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, covering more than 68 countries, including 65% of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population" title="World population" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">world's population</a> and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017.<sup id="cite_ref-time_4776845_20-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-time_4776845-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-cnn_20170511_asia_21-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-cnn_20170511_asia-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a></sup> The project builds on the old trade routes that once connected China to the west, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo" title="Marco Polo" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Marco Polo</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Battuta" title="Ibn Battuta" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ibn Battuta</a>'s routes in the north and the maritime expedition routes of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_dynasty" title="Ming dynasty" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ming dynasty</a> admiral <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He" title="Zheng He" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Zheng He</a> in the south. The Belt and Road Initiative now refers to the entire geographical area of the historic "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road" title="Silk Road" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Silk Road</a>" <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_route" title="Trade route" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">trade route</a>, which has been continuously used in antiquity.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-5_22-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-5-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a></sup> Development of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renminbi" title="Renminbi" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Renminbi</a> as a currency of international transactions, development of the infrastructures of Asian countries, strengthening diplomatic relations whilst reducing dependency on the US and creating new markets for Chinese products, exporting surplus industrial capacity, and integrating commodities-rich countries more closely into the Chinese economy are all objectives of the BRI.<sup id="cite_ref-dhakatribune_20171031_one_23-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-dhakatribune_20171031_one-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While some countries view the project critically because of possible Chinese influence, others point to the creation of a new global growth engine by connecting and moving Asia, Europe and Africa closer together.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G7" class="mw-redirect" title="G7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">G7</a> industrial country <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy" title="Italy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Italy</a> has been a partner in the development of the project since March 2019. According to estimates, the entire project today affects more than 60% of the world's population and approximately 35% of the global economy. Trade along the Silk Road could soon account for almost 40% of total world trade, with a large part being by sea. The land route of the Silk Road also appears to remain a niche project in terms of transport volume in the future.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-6_24-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-6-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the maritime silk road, which is already the route for more than half of all containers in the world, deepwater ports are being expanded, logistical hubs are being built and new traffic routes are being created in the hinterland. The maritime silk road runs with its connections from the Chinese coast to the south via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoi" title="Hanoi" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hanoi</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakarta" title="Jakarta" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jakarta</a>, Singapore and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpur" title="Kuala Lumpur" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kuala Lumpur</a> through the Strait of Malacca via the Sri Lankan <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombo" title="Colombo" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Colombo</a> towards the southern tip of India via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal%C3%A9" title="Malé" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Malé</a>, the capital of the Maldives, to the East African <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mombasa" title="Mombasa" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mombasa</a>, from there to Djibouti, then through the Red Sea via the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal" title="Suez Canal" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Suez Canal</a> to the Mediterranean, there via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haifa" title="Haifa" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Haifa</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul" title="Istanbul" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Istanbul</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens" title="Athens" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Athens</a> to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trieste" title="Trieste" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Trieste</a> with its international free port and its rail connections to Central Europe and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea" title="North Sea" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">North Sea</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-7_25-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-7-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-8_26-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-8-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-9_27-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-9-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-10_28-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-10-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As a result, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland" title="Poland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Poland</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_States" class="mw-redirect" title="Baltic States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Baltic States</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Europe" title="Northern Europe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Northern Europe</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Europe" title="Central Europe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Central Europe</a> are also connected to the maritime silk road and logistically linked to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Africa" title="East Africa" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">East Africa</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" title="India" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">India</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China" title="China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">China</a> via the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriatic" class="mw-redirect" title="Adriatic" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Adriatic</a> ports and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piraeus" title="Piraeus" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Piraeus</a>. All in all, the ship connections for container transports between Asia and Europe will be reorganized. In contrast to the longer East Asian traffic via north-west Europe, the southern sea route through the Suez Canal towards the junction <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trieste" title="Trieste" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Trieste</a> shortens the goods transport by at least four days.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-11_29-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-11-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-12_30-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-12-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-13_31-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-13-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In connection with the Silk Road project, China is also trying to network worldwide research activities.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-14_32-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-14-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Project_name">Project name</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=3" title="Edit section: Project name" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The official name for the initiative is the <b>Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Development Strategy</b> (<span lang="zh-Hans">丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路发展战略</span>).<sup id="cite_ref-cbbc_20170713_33-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-cbbc_20170713-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a></sup>, which was initially abbreviated as the <b>One Belt One Road</b> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language" title="Chinese language" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chinese</a>: <span lang="zh">一带一路</span>) or the <b>OBOR</b> strategy. The English translation has been changed to the <b>Belt and Road Initiative</b> (BRI) since 2016, when the Chinese government considered the emphasis on the words "one" and "strategy" were prone to misinterpretation so they opted for the more inclusive term "initiative" in its translation.<sup id="cite_ref-warontherocks_20190305_34-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-warontherocks_20190305-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Latvia_35-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Latvia-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a></sup> However, "One Belt One Road" is still the reference term in Chinese-language media.<sup id="cite_ref-xinhuanet_1124890399_36-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-xinhuanet_1124890399-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="International_relations">International relations</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=4" title="Edit section: International relations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Belt and Road Initiative is believed by some analysts to be a way to extend Chinese economic and political influence.<sup id="cite_ref-cnn_20170511_asia_21-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-cnn_20170511_asia-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ft_768954394623_37-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-ft_768954394623-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a></sup> Some geopolitical analysts have couched the Belt and Road Initiative in the context of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halford_Mackinder" title="Halford Mackinder" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Halford Mackinder</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Geographical_Pivot_of_History" title="The Geographical Pivot of History" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">heartland theory</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-thediplomat_20190126_38-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-thediplomat_20190126-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-foreignpolicy_20180312_chinas_39-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-foreignpolicy_20180312_chinas-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-bloomberg_20190610_china_40-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-bloomberg_20190610_china-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[40]</a></sup> Scholars have noted that official PRC media attempts to mask any strategic dimensions of the Belt and Road Initiative as a motivation.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-15_41-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-15-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[41]</a></sup> China has already invested billions of dollars in several <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia" title="South Asia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">South Asian</a> countries like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pakistan</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal" title="Nepal" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nepal</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka" title="Sri Lanka" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sri Lanka</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bangladesh</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Afghanistan</a> to improve their basic infrastructure, with implications for China's trade regime as well as its military influence. China has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sources of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Direct_Investment" class="mw-redirect" title="Foreign Direct Investment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Foreign Direct Investment</a> (FDI) into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" title="India" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">India</a> – it was the 17th largest in 2016, up from the 28th rank in 2014 and 35th in 2011, according to India's official ranking of FDI inflows.</font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Western_regions">Western regions</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=5" title="Edit section: Western regions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BRI's goals include internal state-building and stabilisation of ethnic unrest for its vast inland western regions such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang" title="Xinjiang" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Xinjiang</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan" title="Yunnan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yunnan</a>, linking these less developed regions, with increased flows of international trade facilitating closer economic integration with China's inland core.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-16_42-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-16-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[42]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Leadership">Leadership</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=6" title="Edit section: Leadership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Construction_Leadership_Group" title="Belt and Road Construction Leadership Group" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">leading group</a> was formed sometime in late 2014, and its leadership line-up publicized on 1 February 2015. This steering committee reports directly into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Council_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="State Council of the People's Republic of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">State Council of the People's Republic of China</a> and is composed of several political heavyweights, evidence of the importance of the program to the government. Then Vice-Premier <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Gaoli" title="Zhang Gaoli" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Zhang Gaoli</a>, who was also a member of the 7-man <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politburo_Standing_Committee" class="mw-redirect" title="Politburo Standing Committee" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Politburo Standing Committee</a>, was named leader of the group, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Huning" title="Wang Huning" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wang Huning</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Yang(politician)" title="Wang Yang (politician)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wang Yang</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Jing" title="Yang Jing" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yang Jing</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Jiechi" title="Yang Jiechi" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yang Jiechi</a> named deputy leaders.<sup id="cite_ref-Feng_43-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Feng-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[43]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On 28 March 2015, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Council_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="State Council of the People's Republic of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">China's State Council</a> outlined the principles, framework, key areas of cooperation and cooperation mechanisms with regard to the initiative.<sup id="cite_ref-ndrc_669367_44-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-ndrc_669367-44" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[44]</a></sup> The BRI is considered a strategic element within the foreign policy of the People's Republic of China, and was incorporated into its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="Constitution of the People's Republic of China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">constitution</a> in 2017.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-:0-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Financing">Financing</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank.28AIIB.29" /><span class="mw-headline" id="Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank(AIIB)">Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=8" title="Edit section: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><table class="infobox vevent" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); border-spacing: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; padding: 0.2em; float: right; clear: right; line-height: 1.5em; width: 22em;"><caption style="font-weight: bold; padding: 0.2em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank" title="Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank</font></a></caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding-top: 0.4em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank_map.svg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img alt="Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank map.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank_map.svg/259px-Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="259" height="133" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank_map.svg/389px-Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank_map.svg/518px-Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="863" data-file-height="443" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></font></a><div style="padding: 0.35em 0.35em 0.25em; line-height: 1.25em;"><div class="legend" style="break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="legend-color" style="display: inline-block; width: 1.5em; height: 1.5em; margin: 1px 0px; border: 1px solid black; background-color: lightgreen; break-inside: avoid;"> </span> Prospective members (regional)</font></div><div class="legend" style="break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="legend-color" style="display: inline-block; width: 1.5em; height: 1.5em; margin: 1px 0px; border: 1px solid black; background-color: green; break-inside: avoid;"> </span> Members (regional)</font></div><div class="legend" style="break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="legend-color" style="display: inline-block; width: 1.5em; height: 1.5em; margin: 1px 0px; border: 1px solid black; background-color: rgb(136, 204, 249); break-inside: avoid;"> </span> Prospective members (non-regional)</font></div><div class="legend" style="break-inside: avoid-column;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="legend-color" style="display: inline-block; width: 1.5em; height: 1.5em; margin: 1px 0px; border: 1px solid black; background-color: blue; break-inside: avoid;"> </span> Members (non-regional)</font></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank" title="Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank</a></font></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank" title="Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank</a>, first proposed in October 2013, is a development bank dedicated to lending for infrastructure projects. As of 2015, China announced that over one trillion yuan (US$160 billion) of infrastructure related projects were in planning or construction.<sup id="cite_ref-google_20151216_45-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-google_20151216-45" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[45]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The primary goals of AIIB are to address the expanding infrastructure needs across Asia, enhance regional integration, promote economic development and improve public access to social services.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-26_46-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-26-46" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[46]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Articles of Agreement (the legal framework) of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) were signed in Beijing on 29 June 2015. The proposed bank has an authorized capital of $100 billion, 75% of which will come from Asia and Oceania. China will be the single largest stakeholder, holding 26.63% of voting rights. The board of governors is AIIB's highest decision-making body.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-27_47-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-27-47" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[47]</a></sup> The bank began operation on 16 January 2016, and approved its first four loans in June.<sup id="cite_ref-aiib_20190116_48-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-aiib_20190116-48" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[48]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Silk_Road_Fund">Silk Road Fund</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">For the main article, see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_Fund" title="Silk Road Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Silk Road Fund</a>.</font></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In November 2014, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping" title="Xi Jinping" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Xi Jinping</a> announced a US$40 billion development fund, which would be separate from the banks and not part of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Pakistan_Economic_Corridor" title="China–Pakistan Economic Corridor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">CPEC</a> investment. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_Fund" title="Silk Road Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Silk Road Fund</a> would invest in businesses rather than lend money to the projects. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karot_Hydropower_Project" title="Karot Hydropower Project" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Karot Hydropower Project</a>, 50 km (31 mi) from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabad" title="Islamabad" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Islamabad</a>, Pakistan is the first project.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-28_49-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-28-49" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[49]</a></sup> The Chinese government has promised to provide Pakistan with at least US$350 million by 2030 to finance this station. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Three_Gorges_Corporation" title="China Three Gorges Corporation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sanxia Construction Corporation</a> commenced work in January 2016.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2020)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Debt_sustainability">Debt sustainability</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Reinhart" title="Carmen Reinhart" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Carmen Reinhart</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank" title="World Bank" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">World Bank</a>'s chief economist, 60% of the lending from Chinese banks is to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_countries" class="mw-redirect" title="Developing countries" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">developing countries</a> where sovereign loans are negotiated bilaterally, and in secret. Loans are backed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collateral(finance)" title="Collateral (finance)" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">collateral</a> such as rights to a mine, a port or money.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-:0-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[4]</a></sup> <b>Critics use the term <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_trap_diplomacy" class="mw-redirect" title="Debt trap diplomacy" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">debt trap diplomacy</a> to claim China intentionally extends excessive credit to a debtor country with the alleged intention of extracting economic or political concessions from the debtor country when it becomes unable to honor its debt obligations</b> (often <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset-based_lending" title="Asset-based lending" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">asset-based lending</a>, with assets including infrastructure). The conditions of the loans are often not made public and the loaned money is typically used to pay contractors from the creditor country.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For China itself, a report from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitch_Ratings" title="Fitch Ratings" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Fitch Ratings</a> doubts Chinese banks' ability to control risks, as they do not have a good record of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_allocation" title="Resource allocation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">allocating resources</a> efficiently at home. This may lead to new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_quality" title="Asset quality" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">asset quality</a> problems for Chinese banks where most funding is likely to originate.<sup id="cite_ref-archive_001071181_50-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-archive_001071181-50" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[50]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It has been suggested by some scholars that critical discussions about an evolving BRI and its financing needs transcend the "debt-trap" meme. This concerns the networked nature of financial centers and the vital role of advanced business services (e.g. law and accounting) that bring agents and sites into view (such as law firms, financial regulators, and offshore centers) that are generally less visible in geopolitical analysis, but vital in the financing of BRI.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-29_51-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-29-51" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[51]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" title="COVID-19 pandemic" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">COVID-19 pandemic</a> has stopped work on some projects, while some have been scrapped; focus has been brought on projects that were already of questionable economic viability before the pandemic. Many of the loans agreed upon are in or nearing technical default, as many debtor countries reliant on exporting commodities have seen a slump in demand for them. Some debtor countries have started to negotiate to defer payments falling due.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-:0-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup> In particular, the African continent owes an estimated $145 billion, much of which involves BRI projects, with $8bn falling due in 2020. Many leaders on the continent are demanding debt forgiveness, and <i>The Economist</i> forecasts a wave of defaults on these loans.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-5" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-:0-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Infrastructure_networks">Infrastructure networks</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Belt and Road Initiative is about improving the physical infrastructure through land corridors that roughly equate to the old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road" title="Silk Road" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Silk Road</a>. These are the belts in the name, and there is also a maritime silk road.<sup id="cite_ref-UnitedNations_52-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-UnitedNations-52" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup> Infrastructure corridors spanning some 60 countries, primarily in Asia and Europe but also including Oceania and East Africa, will cost an estimated US$4–8 trillion.<sup id="cite_ref-ejinsight20160412_53-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-ejinsight20160412-53" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[53]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Econ27_54-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Econ27-54" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[54]</a></sup> The initiative has been contrasted with the two US-centric trading arrangements, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Partnership" title="Trans-Pacific Partnership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Trans-Pacific Partnership</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_Trade_and_Investment_Partnership" title="Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Econ27_54-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Econ27-54" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[54]</a></sup> The initiative projects receive financial support from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_Fund" title="Silk Road Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Silk Road Fund</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank" title="Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank</a> while they are technically coordinated by the B&R Summit Forum. The land corridors include:<sup id="cite_ref-UnitedNations_52-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-UnitedNations-52" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="list-style-image: url("/w/skins/Vector/resources/skins.vector.styles/images/bullet-icon.svg?d4515"); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Eurasian_Land_Bridge" title="New Eurasian Land Bridge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New Eurasian Land Bridge</a>, which runs from Western China to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Russia" title="European Russia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Western Russia</a> through Kazakhstan, and includes the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe_Railway" class="mw-redirect" title="Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Silk Road Railway</a> through China's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang" title="Xinjiang" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Xinjiang</a> Autonomous Region, Kazakhstan, Russia, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Belarus</a>, Poland and Germany.</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another corridor will run from Northern China through Mongolia to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Far_East" title="Russian Far East" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Russian Far East</a>. The Russian government-established <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Direct_Investment_Fund" title="Russian Direct Investment Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Russian Direct Investment Fund</a> and China's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Investment_Corporation" title="China Investment Corporation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">China Investment Corporation</a>, a Chinese government investment agency, partnered in 2012 to create the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia-China_Investment_Fund" title="Russia-China Investment Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Russia-China Investment Fund</a>, which concentrates on opportunities in bilateral integration.<sup id="cite_ref-rcif_55-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-rcif-55" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[55]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-china_7207419_56-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-china_7207419-56" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[56]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Central_Asia%E2%80%93West_Asia_Corridor" class="mw-redirect" title="China–Central Asia–West Asia Corridor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">China–Central Asia–West Asia Corridor</a>, which will run from Western China to Turkey.</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=China%E2%80%93Indochina_Peninsula_Corridor&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="China–Indochina Peninsula Corridor (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">China–Indochina Peninsula Corridor</a>, which will run from Southern China to Singapore.</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Pakistan_Economic_Corridor" title="China–Pakistan Economic Corridor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">China–Pakistan Economic Corridor</a> (CPEC) <small style="">(Chinese:中国-巴基斯坦经济走廊; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdu_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Urdu language" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Urdu</a>: <span lang="ur" dir="rtl"><span class="Nastaliq" dir="rtl" title="Nastaliq" style="">پاكستان-چین اقتصادی راہداری</span></span></small>) which is also classified as "closely related to the Belt and Road Initiative",<sup id="cite_ref-vision_57-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-vision-57" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[57]</a></sup> a US$62 billion collection of infrastructure projects throughout Pakistan<sup id="cite_ref-tribune_1381733_58-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-tribune_1381733-58" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[58]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-mcclatchydc_59-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-mcclatchydc-59" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[59]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Kiani_60-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Kiani-60" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[60]</a></sup> which aims to rapidly modernize Pakistan's transportation networks, energy infrastructure, and economy.<sup id="cite_ref-mcclatchydc_59-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-mcclatchydc-59" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[59]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Kiani_60-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Kiani-60" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[60]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-dawn_1153597_61-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-dawn_1153597-61" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[61]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-tribune_846370_62-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-tribune_846370-62" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[62]</a></sup> On 13 November 2016, CPEC became partly operational when Chinese cargo was transported overland to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwadar_Port" title="Gwadar Port" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gwadar Port</a> for onward maritime shipment to Africa and West Asia.<sup id="cite_ref-atimes_20161116_63-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-atimes_20161116-63" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[63]</a></sup></font></li></ul><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Silk_Road_Economic_Belt">Silk Road Economic Belt</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><div class="thumb tright" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: right; float: right;"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 402px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:One_Belt_One_Road.png" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/One_Belt_One_Road.png/400px-One_Belt_One_Road.png" decoding="async" width="400" height="277" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/One_Belt_One_Road.png/600px-One_Belt_One_Road.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/One_Belt_One_Road.png/800px-One_Belt_One_Road.png 2x" data-file-width="863" data-file-height="597" style="border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /></font></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:One_Belt_One_Road.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("/w/resources/src/mediawiki.skinning/images/magnify-clip-ltr.svg?8330e"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Belt and Road Economies from its initial plan<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-17_64-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-17-64" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[64]</a></sup></font></div></div></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping" title="Xi Jinping" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Xi Jinping</a> visited <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nur-Sultan" title="Nur-Sultan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nur-Sultan</a>, Kazakhstan, and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013, and proposed jointly building a new economic area, the Silk Road Economic Belt (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_Chinese_characters" title="Simplified Chinese characters" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Chinese</a>: <span lang="zh-Hans">丝绸之路经济带</span>)<sup id="cite_ref-Xiat_65-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Xiat-65" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a></sup> The "belt" includes countries on the original <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road" title="Silk Road" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Silk Road</a> through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia" title="Central Asia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Central Asia</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Asia" class="mw-redirect" title="West Asia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">West Asia</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East" title="Middle East" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Middle East</a>, and Europe. The initiative would create a cohesive economic area by building both hard infrastructure such as rail and road links and soft infrastructure such as trade agreements and a common commercial legal structure with a court system to police the agreements.<sup id="cite_ref-what_9-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-what-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup> It would increase cultural exchanges and expand trade. Besides a zone largely analogous to the historical Silk Road, an expansion includes South Asia and Southeast Asia.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Many of the countries in this belt are also members of the China-led <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank" title="Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank</a> (AIIB).</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Three belts are proposed. The North belt would go through Central Asia and Russia to Europe. The Central belt passes through Central Asia and West Asia to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf" title="Persian Gulf" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Persian Gulf</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean" class="mw-redirect" title="Mediterranean" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mediterranean</a>. The South belt runs from China through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia" title="Southeast Asia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Southeast Asia</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia" title="South Asia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">South Asia</a> and on to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean" title="Indian Ocean" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Indian Ocean</a> through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pakistan</a>. The strategy will integrate China with Central Asia through Kazakhstan's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurly_Zhol" title="Nurly Zhol" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nurly Zhol</a> infrastructure program.<sup id="cite_ref-EUreporterNZ_66-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-EUreporterNZ-66" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[66]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="21st_Century_Maritime_Silk_Road">21st Century Maritime Silk Road</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=13" title="Edit section: 21st Century Maritime Silk Road" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_Maritime_Silk_Road" title="21st Century Maritime Silk Road" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">21st Century Maritime Silk Road</a></font></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" (Chinese:21世纪海上丝绸之路), or just the Maritime Silk Road, is the sea route 'corridor.'<sup id="cite_ref-what_9-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-what-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup> It is a complementary initiative aimed at investing and fostering collaboration in Southeast Asia, Oceania and Africa through several contiguous bodies of water: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_China_Sea" title="South China Sea" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">South China Sea</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_Ocean" class="mw-redirect" title="South Pacific Ocean" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">South Pacific Ocean</a>, and the wider Indian Ocean area.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-18_67-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-18-67" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-19_68-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-19-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ciis7231376_69-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-ciis7231376-69" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[69]</a></sup> It was first proposed in October 2013 by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping" title="Xi Jinping" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Xi Jinping</a> in a speech to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Representative_Council" title="People's Representative Council" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Indonesian Parliament</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-chinadaily17008940_70-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-chinadaily17008940-70" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[70]</a></sup> As with the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative, most member countries have joined the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Infrastructure_Investment_Bank" title="Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank</a>.</font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Ice_Silk_Road">Ice Silk Road</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=14" title="Edit section: Ice Silk Road" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to the Maritime Silk Road, Russia and China are reported to have agreed to jointly build an 'Ice Silk Road' along the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Sea_Route" title="Northern Sea Route" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Northern Sea Route</a> in the Arctic, along a maritime route which Russia considers part of its territorial waters.<sup id="cite_ref-archive_201808182334_71-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-archive_201808182334-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Henderson_72-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Henderson-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">China <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COSCO" title="COSCO" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">COSCO</a> Shipping Corp. has completed several trial trips on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_shipping_routes" title="Arctic shipping routes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Arctic shipping routes</a>, and Chinese and Russian companies are cooperating on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_exploration_in_the_Arctic" title="Petroleum exploration in the Arctic" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">oil and gas exploration</a> in the area and to advance comprehensive collaboration on infrastructure construction, tourism and scientific expeditions.<sup id="cite_ref-Henderson_72-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-Henderson-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Russia together with China approached the practical discussion of the global infrastructure project Ice Silk Road. This was stated by representatives of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vnesheconombank" class="mw-redirect" title="Vnesheconombank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vnesheconombank</a> at the International conference Development of the shelf of Russia<sup id="cite_ref-myseldon_206630988_73-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-myseldon_206630988-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a></sup> and the CIS — 2019 (Petroleum Offshore of Russia), held in Moscow.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height: 1; margin-left: 0.1em; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify" title="Wikipedia:Please clarify" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span title="The text near this tag may need clarification or removal of jargon. (July 2020)">clarification needed</span></a></i>]</sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources" title="Wikipedia:Reliable sources" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span title="The material near this tag may rely on an unreliable source. (July 2020)">unreliable source?</span></a></i>]</sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The delegates of the conference were representatives of the leadership of Russian and corporations (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazprom" title="Gazprom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gazprom</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukoil" title="Lukoil" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Lukoil</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosatom" title="Rosatom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Rosatom</a>, Rosgeologiya, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vnesheconombank" class="mw-redirect" title="Vnesheconombank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vnesheconombank</a>, Morneftegazproekt, Murmanshelf, Russian Helicopters, etc.), as well as foreign auditors (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deloitte" title="Deloitte" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Deloitte</a>, member of the world Big Four) and consulting centers (Norwegian Rystad Energy and others.).<sup id="cite_ref-medium_20190522_74-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-medium_20190522-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources" title="Wikipedia:Reliable sources" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span title="The material near this tag may rely on an unreliable source. Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Perennial sources#Medium (July 2020)">unreliable source?</span></a></i>]</sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Super_grid">Super grid</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=15" title="Edit section: Super grid" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Super_Grid" title="Asian Super Grid" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">super grid</a> project aims to develop six <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-voltage_electricity_transmission_in_China" title="Ultra-high-voltage electricity transmission in China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ultra high voltage</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_grid" title="Electrical grid" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">electrical grids</a> across China, north-east Asia, Southeast Asia, south Asia, central Asia and west Asia. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power" title="Wind power" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">wind power</a> resources of central Asia would form one component of this grid.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-20_75-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-20-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ieee_20190221_76-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-ieee_20190221-76" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[76]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Additionally_proposed">Additionally proposed</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=16" title="Edit section: Additionally proposed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCIM_Forum" class="mw-redirect" title="BCIM Forum" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM)</a> was proposed to run from southern China to Myanmar and was initially officially classified as "closely related to the Belt and Road Initiative".<sup id="cite_ref-vision_57-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-vision-57" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[57]</a></sup> Since the second <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Forum_for_International_Cooperation" title="Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Belt and Road Forum</a> in 2019, BCIM has been dropped from the list of projects due to India's refusal to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-21_77-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-21-77" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[77]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Projects">Projects</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belt_and_Road_Initiative&action=edit§ion=17" title="Edit section: Projects" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_projects_of_the_Belt_and_Road_Initiative" title="List of projects of the Belt and Road Initiative" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">List of projects of the Belt and Road Initiative</a></font></div><div class="thumb tright" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: right; float: right;"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 302px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Belt_and_Road_Initiative_participant_map.svg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Belt_and_Road_Initiative_participant_map.svg/300px-Belt_and_Road_Initiative_participant_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="154" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Belt_and_Road_Initiative_participant_map.svg/450px-Belt_and_Road_Initiative_participant_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Belt_and_Road_Initiative_participant_map.svg/600px-Belt_and_Road_Initiative_participant_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="863" data-file-height="443" style="border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /></font></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Belt_and_Road_Initiative_participant_map.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("/w/resources/src/mediawiki.skinning/images/magnify-clip-ltr.svg?8330e"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Countries which signed cooperation documents related to the Belt and Road Initiative</font></div></div></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">China has engaged 138 countries and 30 international organisations in the BRI.<sup id="cite_ref-yidaiyilu_20190412_78-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-yidaiyilu_20190412-78" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[78]</a></sup> Infrastructure projects include ports, railways, highways, power stations, aviation and telecommunications.<sup id="cite_ref-AutoLT-22_79-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative#cite_note-AutoLT-22-79" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[79]</a></sup></font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div>