Belt and Road Initiative

Topic: Infrastructure

Why in the news?

• A Pakistani separatist group claimed responsibility for a late night bombing that targeted a convoy with Chinese nationals outside the Karachi airport.
• The attack by the Baloch Liberation Army outside the airport in the southern port city of Karachi was the latest deadly assault on Chinese in the country and came a week before Pakistan is to host a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security grouping founded by China and Russia to counter Western alliances.
• Thousands of Chinese workers are in Pakistan, most of them involved in Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative that connects south and central Asia with the Chinese capital.

Source: The Hindu 

About Belt and Road Initiative:

• It represents a multifaceted development strategy aimed at enhancing global connectivity and cooperation.
• It was launched in 2013 and aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.
• It was first named the ‘One Belt, One Road’ but renamed as the BRI to convey a more open and inclusive initiative as opposed to a Chinese-dominated one.
• Routes of BRI:
  • Silk Road Economic Belt: It is dedicated to improving connectivity, infrastructure, and trade links across Eurasia through a network of overland transportation routes.
  • Maritime Silk Road: It emphasizes maritime connections and cooperation in the form of ports, shipping routes, and maritime infrastructure projects. It begins via the South China Sea going towards Indo-China, South-East Asia and then around the Indian Ocean thus reaching Africa and Europe.
• Its primary goal is to boost international connectivity by enhancing infrastructure, trade, and economic cooperation.
• It encompasses a wide range of projects, including railways, ports, highways, and energy infrastructure.
• Geographic Corridors: 
  • The land-based Silk Road Economic Belt envisions six key corridors for development:
    • China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
    • New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor.
    • China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor.
    • China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.
    • China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor.
    • China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
• Economic Impact: 
  • Countries participating in the BRI have witnessed growth in trade and investments with China, leading to preferential treatment and policy benefits.
• India’s Stance on BRI:
  • India opposes the project on the grounds of sovereignty and transparency. 
  • India\'s main objection to the BRI is that it includes the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), a territory that India claims as its own.
  • India also argues that the BRI projects should respect the international norms, rule of law, and financial sustainability, and should not create debt traps or environmental and social risks for the host countries.
  • India has instead promoted other connectivity initiatives, such as the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) , a G7 initiative to fund infrastructure projects in developing countries.