TRADE WINDS RISING

As the tenth edition of the Belt and Road Summit takes place in Hong Kong this month, Tatler launches a new series exploring the real-world impact of China's Belt and Road Initiative. From infrastructure and investment to tourism, technology and culture, we trace how this vast web of global partnerships is quietly reshaping the way the world moves, connects and grows

- By Toh Han Shih

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is China's megaproject aiming to bolster economic links, including trade ties with other countries. These economic links were initially forged with infrastructure projects like railways, ports, highways and airports, mostly built by Chinese companies and largely funded by Chinese state-owned banks. Now, the BRI also includes services like education, tourism, e-commerce, environmental projects and poverty alleviation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping coined the term Belt and Road in 2013. During a visit to Kazakhstan in September that year, Xi mooted the concept of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" as a modern version of the ancient Silk Road, which ran from China through Central Asian nations like Kazakhstan and ended in Europe. The ancient Silk Road is estimated to have lasted from 200BC to the 15th century. In October 2013, during a visit to Indonesia, Xi proposed a Maritime Silk Road to connect China with countries like Indonesia through sea-based trade, as a modern update of the seaborne trade between Indonesia and China dating back at least 2,000 years. Combining the Silk Road Economic Belt with the Maritime Road, the concept of the Belt and Road Initiative, also known as "One Belt, One Road", was born.