Publications /
Policy Paper

Back
The Belt and Road turns five
Authors
Michael Baltensperger
January 13, 2019

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an international trade and development strategy. Launched in 2013, it is one of the ways China asserts its role in world affairs and captures the opportunities of globalisation. The BRI has the potential to enhance development prospects across the world and in China, but that potential might not be realised because the BRI’s objectives are too broad and ill-defined, and its execution is too often non-transparent, lacking in due diligence and uncoordinated.

Originally published by Bruegel, the Belgium-based think-tank and partner of Policy Center for the New South, this Policy Contribution offers a reflection by Michael Baltensperger and Uri Dadush on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, five years after its launch. 

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    May 31, 2024
    President Biden's announcement of new tariffs on China, though not economically significant on its own, symbolizes the deepening decoupling of the U.S. and Chinese economies. These tariffs, supported by both major political parties, represent the latest step in a broader strategy that favors policy interventions over traditional free-market principles and aims to protect domestic workers, maintain technological leadership, and prioritize economic security. This policy brief discusse ...
  • Authors
    January 31, 2024
    En octobre 2023, la Chine a organisé le 3ème forum de l'Initiative « Ceinture et Route ». Le choix de la date n’était pas anodin, étant donné qu’elle coïncidait avec la célébration du 10ème anniversaire de l'Initiative. Une initiative aux multiples composantes L’Initiative « Ceinture et Route », également connue sous l’acronyme BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), a été initialement conçue pour permettre à la Chine de renforcer ses liens commerciaux avec les Etats partenaires de son I ...
  • Authors
    January 19, 2024
    La pandémie de la Covid-19 était venue contribuer au ralentissement de la cadence des investissements chinois dans le cadre de l’Initiative Ceinture et Route « Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ». Entamée dès 2016, cette tendance à la baisse a été accentuée par les tensions géopolitiques et les problèmes internes qui ont affecté l'économie chinoise. Nonobstant ces contre-temps, la Chine a atteint l’un de ses plus grands objectifs : étendre son influence à travers le monde. À l’occasion ...
  • Authors
    August 29, 2023
    At the August 22-24 BRICS summit in Johannesburg, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa said they wanted to use more of their national currencies for cross-border payments, which are currently dominated by the U.S. dollar and other global convertible currencies. Like China and the other BRICS, several other countries have also sought to develop alternative external payment mechanisms. Pairs of countries have agreed to settle commercial and financial transactio ...
  • April 10, 2023
    This policy paper examines India’s growing engagement in North Africa, focusing on five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Despite lacking a distinct regional policy for North Africa, India has amplified its bilateral engagement with these countries, underpinned by a steadfast commitment to the principle of South-South cooperation. Through its strategic moves in North Africa, India has established a powerful southern-west axis for its foreign policy that stretch ...
  • Authors
    Selassie Tay
    February 15, 2023
    Background The African Union in 2018 agreed to implement the world’s second-largest free-trade area measured by number of countries, people, and geographical size, with the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). This agreement will ultimately lead to a continent-wide free trade area consisting of 54 countries with 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion[1]. This equates to about 19%-20% of the GDP of the European Union and China, which are ...
  • September 23, 2022
    A l’occasion de l’anniversaire des 60 ans des relations diplomatiques et économiques entre la République de Corée et le Royaume du Maroc, une rencontre est organisée par le Policy Center for the New South en collaboration avec le Korean Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)...
  • September 23, 2022
    Relations between Rabat and Seoul have been in a state of considerable flux in every aspect since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in July 1962. The Korean embassy in Rabat is Seoul's first permanent diplomatic representation on the African continent. ...
  • Authors
    August 2, 2022
    L’invasion russe de l'Ukraine a incité l'Union Européenne, en coordination avec d’autres puissances mondiales, à monter en urgence une réponse coordonnée de sanctions sans précédent. La plus emblématique d'entre elles est l'embargo partiel contre le pétrole et autres produits raffinés russes, qui signifie en essence la transition du commerce pétrolier d’une logique économique vers une logique géopolitique. D'où la montée en flèche des cours du pétrole et d'autres matières premières. ...
  • July 29, 2022
    يخصص مركز السياسات من أجل الجنوب الجديد حلقة برنامجه الأسبوعي "حديث الثلاثاء"   لمناقشة آفاق التعاون بين كوريا الجنوبية و إفريقيا مع المصطفى الرزرازي، الباحث البارز بمركز السياسات من أجل الجنوب الجديد. شهدت العلاقات الكورية الإفريقية إنطلاقاً من العقد الأول من الألفية تطوراً ملحوظاً ات...