Belt and Road Initiative facts for kids

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also known as the New Silk Road, is a plan by the government of the People's Republic of China to build infrastructure for transportation, from China to other countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa. The project was announced in 2013. The "Belt" means the roads and railway tracks on land. The "Road" means sea routes.

At first, it was called "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR, Chinese: 一帶 一路 / 一带 一路, pinyin: Yidai Yilu).

A high-speed railway in Thailand is part of OBOR; the Bangkok-Phitsanulok High-Speed Railway is under construction (as of 2017).

Membership

Countries which signed MOU related to the Belt and Road Initiative

Countries join the Belt and Road Initiative by signing a memorandum of understanding with China regarding their participation in it. The Government of China maintains a listing of all involved countries on its Belt and Road Portal, and state media outlet Xinhua News Agency puts out a press release whenever a memorandum of understanding related to the Belt and Road Initiative is signed with a new country. Not counting China, there were 154 countries formally affiliated with the Belt and Road Initiative As of August 2023^[update] according to observers at Fudan University's Green Finance and Development Center, and an independent analysis from Germany from the same time also found 148 member states out of 249 political entities surveyed. The Council on Foreign Relations additionally found 139 member countries as of March 2021; countries that are documented as joining since then include Syria and Argentina. The full list of current members according to the Chinese government is below:

Current members

Observers

•  North Korea

Past members

1.  Estonia
2.  Italy
3.  Philippines

Financing

China's investment in the BRI began at a moderate level in 2013 and increased significantly over 2014 and 2015. Investment volume peaked in 2016 and 2017. Afterwards, investments decreased gradually, and then significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The BRI's lowest investment volume was in 2023.

China's investment in the Maritime Silk Road portion of the BRI has grown at a steady pace. As of 2023, Maritime Silk Road investments were 60% of the BRI's total investment volume.

Images for kids

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  Yangshan Port of Shanghai, China

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  Container terminals in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong

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  Polish President Andrzej Duda and Chinese leader Xi Jinping signed a declaration on strategic partnership in June 2016

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  Suez Canal

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  Container ship transiting the Suez Canal

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  Mombasa Port on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast

See also

In Spanish: Iniciativa de la Franja y la Ruta para niños