Photo: AFP/NurPhoto/Danil Shamkin
György Szalma
16/10/0202 06:00
The Belt and Road Initiative (formerly known as One Belt, One Road) has so far been joined by 155 countries, representing two-thirds of the world's population. This has created the largest marketplace in the world, creating unparalleled opportunities for growth for all parties involved. And the circle continues to expand, with eight countries already joining, including Brazil, Spain, Denmark and Colombia, and eight more countries indicating that they are considering joining. In parallel with the signing of the contracts signed so far, more than 200 cooperation agreements have been signed with 30 international organisations under the BRI.
So far, 93 countries have joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the financial institution that provides the financing for the initiative, and its activities are complemented by the Silk Road Fund. In the Hungarian context, the China Construction Bank, which is opening a branch in Budapest, is of particular importance, with the declared aim of supporting BRI-related development projects with loans and technical assistance. The construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship of the BRI, provides an approximately accurate picture of the scale of global infrastructure development. The investment is worth 75 billion USD and will include the construction of 2,700 km of transport infrastructure, as well as critical energy and industrial upgrades.
In European terms, the development of the port of Piraeus in Greece, which has become the busiest container port in the Mediterranean, and the upgrading of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line in Hungary should be highlighted.
In the ten years of the BRI's history, three thousand projects and 420 thousand jobs have been created in the countries along the routes of the "new Silk Road". The initiative has generated a total investment of nearly one trillion dollars. Another not insignificant achievement is that the BRI has lifted nearly 40 million people out of poverty. The Belt and Road Initiative has also stimulated the global economy. Trade in goods between China and the countries involved in the cooperation has grown from 1.04 trillion dollars in 2013 to 2.07 trillion dollars in 2022. The average annual growth rate was eight per cent. Meanwhile, not only trade flows have picked up, but also the volume of financial cooperation has reached a higher level and cultural ties have become much deeper.
On the tenth anniversary of the launch of the project, the third Belt and Road Forum will be held in China, to which the organisers are expecting more guests than ever before, including representatives from 150 countries, as well as from various international organisations and cooperating global institutions.
The author is a journalist.