Chinese leader Xi Jinping is scheduled to host a gathering of world leaders later this week to mark the 10th anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The trillion-dollar initiative, intended to create an international web of investments and infrastructure development to rival that of the United States, has seen slowed progress in recent years, but Chinese officials hope that the upcoming forum will renew support for Xi’s “project of the century.”
Since President Xi first announced the Belt and Road Initiative a decade ago, Chinese companies have poured an estimated $1 trillion into the construction of ports, roads, bridges, power plants, and other infrastructure in poorer nations around the world, fostering economic development while also spreading Chinese influence.
However, China’s activity in BRI countries has dropped by nearly 40% since 2018 amid economic challenges and pandemic-era hardships. Domestic issues including a property crisis, high unemployment, and an aging workforce have slowed the Chinese efforts to overtake the American economy.
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The Belt and Road Initiative has been extensively criticized for saddling participating countries with unmanageable debt, causing many to default on their loans during the economic upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other criticism has accused China of lax environmental and labor standards, threatening fragile ecosystems, and displacing indigenous populations—all of which China has denied while also touting its dedication to eco-friendly development.
As the BRI’s 10th anniversary approaches, President Xi is preparing to address these criticisms directly while also expanding the Initiative’s vision in light of the global instability caused by the wars in Israel and Ukraine. Previous summits held in 2017 and 2019 helped to reinvigorate international support for the Initiative, with the hope being that the 2023 summit will likewise spur new agreements and allow China to expand its role as a power broker.
Leaders and representatives from dozens of countries in Asia, the Middle East, and the Global South are expected to attend the conference in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were among the first to arrive on Sunday, followed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to attend, marking his first visit to Beijing since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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