Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

Introduction

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a large-scale, multi-decade strategy of infrastructure and economic development introduced by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 in a bid to link Asia, Europe, and Africa with enormous networks of railways, ports, pipelines, and maritime lanes. Known as the “21st Century Silk Road,” it covers over 70 countries, comprising about 65% of the world population and 60% of global GDP.

Components of the BRI

The project is separated into two main parts:

• Silk Road Economic Belt: This is an overland web of routes joining China to Central Asia, West Asia, Middle East and Europe.
• 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: A maritime corridor connecting the coast of China with Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, Africa and the Mediterranean.

Key Economic Corridors

The BRI envisions six major land-based corridors:

• China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): A pilot project that connects Xinjiang to Gwadar Port in Pakistan.
• New Eurasian Landbridge: Western China to Western Russia.
• China-Central Asia-West Asia Corridor: This is a route that connects Western China and Turkey.
• China-Mongolia-Russia Corridor: Bridging North China and Eastern Russia.
• China-Indochina Peninsula Corridor: Connections between Southern China and Singapore.
• China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC): The BCIM corridor (which had been stalled) was replaced by this.

Objectives of the Initiative

• Economic Integration & Trade: To promote more economic relations and establish new markets of Chinese products.
• Overcapacity Management: To take advantage of the surplus industrial capacity in China in steel, cement and construction through constructing infrastructure overseas.
• Energy Security: To reduce reliance on the Malacca Strait, diversification of energy importation routes.
• Geopolitical Power: To assert Chinese influence and create other trade paths, redefining the economic order in the world.

Concerns and Challenges

• Debt Trap Diplomacy: Critics point to the fact that BRI projects are financed by loans to recipient nations that are unable to repay, which leads to unsustainable debt, as the leasing of the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka.
• Transparency and Governance: The absence of transparency in the bidding and contracts usually favours Chinese companies and promotes corruption.
• Sovereignty Violations: The CPEC runs through Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (PoK), which is a contentious region with India as its claimant.
• Environmental and Social Impact: A significant number of projects are accused of environmental degradation and absence of involvement of the local community.

India’s Stance and Concerns

India never participated in the BRI summits, citing three broad reasons:

1. Sovereignty: CPEC traverses a region of Pakistan-held Kashmir, PoK, which India asserts sovereignty over.
2. Strategic Encirclement The so-called String of Pearls approach, which includes ports funded by Chinese investors in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, endangers the Indian hegemony in the Indian Ocean.
3. Financial Sustainability: India promotes global standards and open financing to prevent the development of debt obligations in its surrounding.

India’s Alternatives

India is encouraging other connectivity projects to counter the influence of China:

• Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII): A G7-led program with the backing of India.
• International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC): This is a multi-modal transit route between India and Russia through Iran.
• India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC): It is focused on facilitating trade between India, the Gulf and Europe.

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