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Introduction
In September of 2013, speaking at Kazakhstan's Nazarbayev University, Xi Jinping announced his plan to re-establish the Silk Road, stating, “[t]o forge closer economic ties, deepen cooperation and expand development space in the Eurasian region, we should [...] jointly build an ‘economic belt along the Silk Road.’”1 He expanded upon this vision the following month, while at a summit for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), announcing that China will also jointly establish “the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century.”2
Over eight years later, 140 countries across 5 continents3 containing about 60%* of the global population and accounting for 1/3rd of the world’s GDP4 have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China, officially integrating them into the BRI. The heart of this project consists of 6 economic corridors connecting China with Europe, Central, and Southeast Asia, as well as one maritime road stretching from the South China Sea to the Mediterranean.5
1 Xi Jinping, ‘Promote Friendship Between Our People and Work Together to Build a Bright Future’
(Speech at Nazarbayev University, Astana, 7 September 2013) <https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/zyjh_665391/t1078088.shtml> accessed 3 October 2021. 2 Xi Jinping, ‘Speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Indonesian Parliament’ (Speech before Indonesian Parliament, Jakarta, 2 October 2013) <(ASEAN)http://www.asean-china-center.org/english/2013-10/03/c_133062675.htm > accessed 3 October 2021. 3Christoph Nedopil, ‘Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative’ (IIGF Green BRI Center, 2021) <https://green-bri.org/countries-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-bri/ > accessed 3 October 2021. *Some estimates put this number closer to 70% of the world’s population. H Lu, C Rohr, M Hafner, A Knack, (2018). ‘China Belt and Road Initiative: How revival of the silk road could impact world trade’ (Rand, 2018) <https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB10029.html> accessed 3 October 2021. 4M Ruta, M Herrera Dappe, S Lall, C Zhang, E Churchill, C Constantinescu, M Lebrand, A Mulabdic, ‘Belt and Road Economics: Opportunities and Risks of Transport Corridors.’ (The World Bank, 2019) <https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative > accessed 3 October 2021.
