China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been China’s flagship foreign policy since Xi Jinping launched it in 2013. With over 140 affiliated countries, it has provided much-needed infrastructure worldwide. This chapter examines how China’s communication about the BRI has evolved. It reveals China’s successes in persuading countries to join the initiative across the Global South and its struggles to convince richer liberal democracies to join. It shows how COVID-19 harmed China’s international image, but caused few changes in how countries approached the BRI. The chapter also considers the new infrastructure initiatives established by China’s competitors, the United States and the European Union, and the difficulties they face matching the BRI. Finally, the chapter shows how the BRI became less prominent during the 20th Party Congress of 2022, with China prioritizing its new Global Development Initiative, which raises questions about the future of the BRI.