A New Focus

We look at how Belt and Road projects are set to be extended to the environment, education, tourism, sports and digital technology

- By Toh Han Shih

After dedicating more than a decade to expensive infrastructure projects around the world, China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is shifting to projects in service sectors including environment, tourism, sport and digital technology.

“The BRI is already in its 12th year. It has always been one of the most important national strategies. In the beginning of the BRI, China tried to build railway, ports and other infrastructure,” says Herman Hu, a Hong Kong deputy of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China's parliament. “China believes it is time we move to a new era. From now on we are going to help BRI countries to develop the environment, green initiatives and their digital infrastructure.”

Since the launch of the BRI in 2013, the total spending on this mega-project has surpassed US$1 trillion, with more than 150 countries having signed BRI agreements with China, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). Many of primarily infrastructure projects were built by Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and funded by Chinese state-owned banks, and can be found in Central Asia, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang’s work report delivered at the NPC in Beijing in March said, “We will strive for solid progress in pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.