China’s appeal to poor countries is changing

By Roger McShane

Not long after he assumed power in 2012, Xi Jinping began talking about reviving the historic Silk Road, a network of trade routes that once connected east and west. Little did the world know that these musings would turn into Mr Xi’s signature foreign policy. In the years that followed, China laid thousands of miles of tarmac and poured an ocean of concrete, building ports and pipelines across the globe. In 2023 the country celebrated the tenth anniversary of this infrastructure binge, which came to be known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

More than 150 countries signed on to the scheme, under which China doled out hundreds of billions of dollars in loans and grants. Many receiving countries badly needed the infrastructure China has helped provide. But there have been plenty of problems, too. So the anniversary festivities were accompanied by a reassessment. The BRI is changing, along with Mr Xi’s message to the global south.