From new faces to new funds, what has changed in the Belt and Road Forum?
- It has been two years since Beijing hosted a forum for the participants and supporters of its global trade plan, and there have been some developments in the state of play
- Three-day event is diplomatic highlight of the year for China, with leaders of about 40 foreign governments set to attend
There have been plenty of highs and lows in the six years since China launched its “Belt and Road Initiative”, but as the second Belt and Road Forum gets under way in Beijing, President Xi Jinping’s grand plan to boost global trade and enhance regional connectivity has never been under more scrutiny.
The recent success in getting the China-funded East Coast Rail Link back on track will have doubtless given Beijing a fillip – albeit after agreeing to a massively reduced budget for the scheme – but the problems that caused it to stall remain.
Since holding its first Belt and Road Forum in 2017, the plan’s global profile has risen exponentially, as too have the voices that oppose and challenge it.
China has been widely accused of using the plan to engage in “debt trap diplomacy” in Asia and Africa, while opponents in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere have charged it with becoming a systemic and strategic rival.
As Beijing prepares to host leaders and diplomats from around the world, we take a look at the structural and administrative changes it has made to the scheme since the last forum in 2017.