jan 1, 2013 - China's Belt and Road Initiative
Description:
Belt and Road Initiative:
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R[1]), formerly known as One Belt One Road (Chinese: 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations.[2][3] It is considered a centerpiece of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping's foreign policy.[4] The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" (Chinese: 大国外交) strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role for global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status.[5] As of March 2022, 146 countries were listed as having signed up to the BRI.[6]
Xi originally announced the strategy as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" during an official visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013.[7][8][9] "Belt" is short for the "Silk Road Economic Belt," referring to the proposed overland routes for road and rail transportation through landlocked Central Asia along the famed historical trade routes of the Western Regions; whereas "road" is short for the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", referring to the Indo-Pacific sea routes through Southeast Asia to South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.[10] Examples of Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure investments include ports, skyscrapers, railroads, roads, bridges, airports, dams, coal-fired power stations, and railroad tunnels.
The initiative was incorporated into the Constitution of China in 2017.[4] The Chinese government calls the initiative "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future."[11] The project has a target completion date of 2049,[12] which will coincide with the centennial of the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s founding.
Supporters praise the BRI for its potential to boost the global GDP, particularly in developing countries. However, there has also been criticism over human rights violations and environmental impact, as well as concerns of debt-trap diplomacy resulting in neocolonialism and economic imperialism.
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