{"id":13155,"date":"2023-10-24T11:30:17","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T11:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=13155"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:05:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:05:12","slug":"the-belt-and-road-initiative-in-ten-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/the-belt-and-road-initiative-in-ten-figures\/","title":{"rendered":"The Belt and Road Initiative in 10 figures"},"content":{"rendered":"

In October 2023, China hosted the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing to mark 10 years of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Officially dubbed the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st<\/sup> Century Maritime Silk Road, the BRI is an ambitious (and sometimes controversial) infrastructure development strategy that forms the centrepiece of Xi Jinping\u2019s foreign policy strategy.<\/p>\n

On the 10th<\/sup> anniversary of the BRI, we look at 10 key figures that demonstrate the scale and ambition of the project.<\/p>\n

\"launchpad<\/a><\/p>\n

155<\/strong>
\nAs of August 2023, a purported 155 countries have joined the BRI by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU). According to the Chinese government\u2019s Belt and Road Portal<\/a>, this includes 40 countries in Asia, 52 countries in Africa, 27 in Europe, 15 in North America, 9 in South America, and 12 in Oceania.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>
\nItaly is the only G7 country to have joined the BRI, having signed an MoU with Beijing in March 2019. However, as of late 2023, the Italian government has indicated that it is likely to withdraw from the BRI, bringing it into step with the China policy of the rest of the EU. Italian politicians are reported to have been disappointed with the scale of trade and other business dealings with China since the MoU was signed.<\/p>\n

$1 trillion<\/strong>
\nThe amount estimated to have been spent on BRI initiatives, making the BRI the largest multilateral development project ever undertaken by a single country.<\/p>\n