{"id":6824,"date":"2025-03-19T08:06:49","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T07:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/?post_type=publication&#038;p=6824"},"modified":"2025-03-19T08:06:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T07:06:50","slug":"fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/","title":{"rendered":"FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Abstract: <br>The Belt and Road initiative (BRI), introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is an economic and geopolitical mega-project that has become a centrepiece of China\u2019s foreign and economic policy. The original goal was to better connect the Asian economies with Europe. However, over time the BRI has changed fundamentally. This Policy Brief will provide an overview of these changes, starting with a rapid extension of the BRI to Africa and Latin America, followed by a certain slowing down of China\u2019s engagement. After the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant change of the pattern of projects can be observed, with a pivot away from large-scale infrastructure projects, a certain \u2018multilateralisation\u2019 of projects, and a focus on investments in \u2018green energy\u2019 and \u2018green technologies\u2019, e.g. batteries. However, securing critical minerals, strategically important transport infrastructure for trade and China\u2019s position in the \u2018Global South\u2019 remain important. Therefore, some geopolitical aspects and challenges for Europe and the U.S.\u00a0 as well as possible answers (such as Global Gateway and the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment, PGII) are discussed. We will conclude with some remarks on policy options for Europe respectively European and, in particular, Austrian companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Waltraud Urban (Senior Research Associate and former China expert at wiiw &#8211; The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)<br>China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited<br>FIW-Policy Brief 66<br>March 2025<br>Language: English<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zusammenfassung<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Die Seidenstra\u00dfen Initiative (Belt and Road Initiative, BRI) steht f\u00fcr ein wirtschaftliches und geopolitisches Megaprojekt das, vom chinesischen Pr\u00e4sidenten Xi Jinping im Jahre 2013 initiiert, seither ein zentrales Element der Au\u00dfen- und Wirtschaftspolitik des Landes darstellt. Das urspr\u00fcngliche Ziel, einer besseren Konnektivit\u00e4t zwischen Asien und Europa, hat sie sich im Laufe der Zeit stark ver\u00e4ndert. Dieser Policy Brief gibt einen \u00dcberblick \u00fcber die Entwicklung der Initiative, \u00fcber ihre Ausdehnung auf Afrika und Lateinamerika, gefolgt von einer gewissen Redimensionierung und einer signifikanten Ver\u00e4nderung der Art der Projekte nach COVID-19: Weg von gro\u00dfen Infrastrukturprojekten, mehr Kooperation mit ausl\u00e4ndischen Investoren sowie ein Fokus auf \u201agr\u00fcne\u2018 Energieprojekte und Investitionen in \u201agr\u00fcne\u2018 Technologien (z.B. Batterien). Dies allerdings ohne f\u00fcr China wesentliche strategische Aspekte, wie wichtige Transport-Infrastruktur f\u00fcr den Au\u00dfenhandel, die Versorgung mit kritischen Mineralien und die Sicherung seiner Position im \u201aGlobalen S\u00fcden\u2018 au\u00dfer Acht zu lassen. Der Policy Brief geht daher auch auf geopolitische Aspekte und die Herausforderungen die sich daraus f\u00fcr Europa bzw. die USA ergeben (Global Gateway, Partnerschaft f\u00fcr globale Infrastrukturinvestitionen) ein. Abschlie\u00dfend werden Schlussfolgerungen gezogen, wie Europa bzw. europ\u00e4ische Unternehmen auf die neue Situation reagieren und m\u00f6glicherweise Vorteile daraus ziehen k\u00f6nnten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","jelcode":[],"keyword":[],"class_list":["post-6824","publication","type-publication","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"year":2025,"month":3,"day":"","volume":"66","number":"","pages":"","reviewed":"","citeid":"FIW-PB-066","fiwseries":"FIW Policy Briefs","event":[6817]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited - FIW<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited - FIW\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Abstract: The Belt and Road initiative (BRI), introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is an economic and geopolitical mega-project that has become a centrepiece of China\u2019s foreign and economic policy. The original goal was to better connect the Asian economies with Europe. However, over time the BRI has changed fundamentally. This Policy Brief [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FIW\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-19T07:06:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/wifo_fiw_logo_short_rgb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"843\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"293\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CentreFiw\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/\",\"name\":\"FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited - FIW\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-19T07:06:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-19T07:06:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Publications\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/\",\"name\":\"FIW\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"FIW\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/wifo_fiw_logo_kugel_rgb.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/wifo_fiw_logo_kugel_rgb.png\",\"width\":843,\"height\":843,\"caption\":\"FIW\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/CentreFiw\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited - FIW","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited - FIW","og_description":"Abstract: The Belt and Road initiative (BRI), introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is an economic and geopolitical mega-project that has become a centrepiece of China\u2019s foreign and economic policy. The original goal was to better connect the Asian economies with Europe. However, over time the BRI has changed fundamentally. This Policy Brief [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/","og_site_name":"FIW","article_modified_time":"2025-03-19T07:06:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":843,"height":293,"url":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/wifo_fiw_logo_short_rgb.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@CentreFiw","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/","url":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/","name":"FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited - FIW","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-03-19T07:06:49+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-19T07:06:50+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/fiw-pb-66-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-revisited\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Publications","item":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/publications\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"FIW-PB 66 China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative revisited"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/","name":"FIW","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#organization","name":"FIW","url":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/wifo_fiw_logo_kugel_rgb.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/wifo_fiw_logo_kugel_rgb.png","width":843,"height":843,"caption":"FIW"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/CentreFiw"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/6824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publication"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/6817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"jelcode","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jelcode?post=6824"},{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=6824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}