China Seeks a New Narrative for Its Belt and Road Initiative

China Seeks a New Narrative for Its Belt and Road Initiative
Workers install flowers on a decoration promoting the upcoming Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, April 23, 2019 (AP photo by Andy Wong).

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, WPR Newsletter and Engagement Editor Benjamin Wilhelm curates the week’s top news and expert analysis on China.

China is expected to promote a rebooted version of its signature Belt and Road Initiative when world leaders from 37 countries gather in Beijing this week for the second Belt and Road Forum. Skepticism has been mounting for years over China’s expansive infrastructure investment strategy, and Beijing is looking for an opportunity to reset the narrative at this week’s summit, which begins Thursday and concludes Saturday.

Critics have long viewed the Belt and Road Initiative as a bid to gain leverage and spread Chinese influence abroad. As Jonathan W. Rosen wrote last year in an in-depth report for WPR on Chinese investment in Zambia, “Western officials have increasingly accused the Chinese government of setting ‘debt traps’: financing projects with high risks of default, with the ultimate aim of compelling states to relinquish strategic resources.” That has led some to denounce the project as “debt-trap diplomacy,” while others have argued that a better description would be “crony diplomacy.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review