China's Belt and Road Initiative: Where it goes and what it's supposed to accomplish

Security personnel stand guard near a "Golden Bridge on Silk Road" decoration for the Belt and Road Forum outside the China National Convention Center in Beijing earlier this year. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

What is news, economic power is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects worldwide. In this way, it is important to remember that in 2013 when the United States and many other countries were still recovering from the Great Recession, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced perhaps the most transparent and ambitious foreign policy of the new century: the Belt and Initiative Road.

Thus, it is considered that this name is a nod to the Silk Road, the old network of trade routes that connected China with the Roman Empire and many intermediate societies. Likewise, it has been indicated that the modern version provided by Xi goes even further.

And it is that China is financing infrastructure projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars, including ports, roads, bridges, railroads, power plants, telecommunications networks and much more, in partner countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and more there.

Purpose established

It is important to clarify that the purpose, says China, is to accelerate and improve development and trade to create new markets and opportunities for China and its partners.

The project seeks to create six economic corridors that facilitate the transport of people, goods, and data. In addition, determining which projects are really part of the Belt and Road Initiative can be complicated.

In fact, according to reports, some infrastructure projects that were underway before Belt and Road was announced in 2013 have been renamed as part of the initiative.

In addition, it is appropriate to mention that many participating countries, such as those in the Caribbean and South America, for example, are nowhere near any of the six economic corridors of Belt and Road, or the Silk Road Economic Belt or Maritime Silk Road

In addition, China’s loans have allowed many countries to move forward with infrastructure projects that didn’t seem possible before, including deep-water ports, high-speed railways, and massive hydroelectric dams.

Thus, Beijing announces the massive $ 500B Belt and Road foreign infrastructure project

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Source: CBC News