network

and a political vision. It started with a

speech that President Xi Jinping made

back in Kazakhstan in 2013.

He talked about building a new trade

route based on the old Silk Road —

an ancient network that linked Asia, the

Middle East and Europe for almost

2,000 years.

The Belt and Road Initiative basically

weaves together lots of projects.

It could be China building things from

scratch, upgrading existing

infrastructure,

handing out loans or making investments.

There are overland routes that connect

China to central and south Asia, the

Middle East and Europe.

That's the "belt". It includes what's

called the China-Pakistan Economic

Corridor

where around $60 billion are

being spent on things like coal and

hydro power plants,

wind farms, highways and a new high-speed

rail link between Peshawar and Karachi.

Then there's the "road" part which is

slightly confusing because it actually

refers to a maritime

Silk Road — sea routes that connect China

to Southeast Asia,

Africa and Europe. It includes major

investments in ports across the world —

places like Sri Lanka, Dubai, Djibouti,

Greece and Spain. Even as far as Peru.

Now we listed some of the big examples

but BRI

specifics are hard to come by. There's

actually no confirmed list of everything

and everyone involved

but it's estimated to include 2,600

projects in more than 100 countries.

And that makes it hard to come up with

an accurate price tag.

So what's the endgame here? Well, for

China the BRI is obviously about trade.

But all this global interconnectedness

and the huge amount of money involved

means the Belt and Road Initiative is

also political.

By building all this stuff China is also

exporting its version

of economic development. Now, the way the

West has usually done it is to provide

economic support but with conditions

attached

like certain democratic reforms. China's

style is different.

The World Bank reckons that China's BRI

projects

could lift more than 7 million people

out of extreme poverty

and that transport projects could boost

global trade by up to 6.2%.

And, of course, there are lots of

countries eager to take China's money.

Djibouti is one example. Its BRI projects

include a major port, a new railway line

to the Ethiopian capital and a gas

pipeline.

China's put up around $14 billion

in investments and loans for Djibouti

between 2012 and 2020.

But there are risks — like corruption.

Especially because there's so much

secrecy surrounding most of these BRI

deals.

So,

it's politicians making these deals

and there are plenty of examples of

ordinary people losing out.

Another thing to remember is that with

all the talk of Chinese money funding

these projects

it's often more accurate to say that

it's actually Chinese loans.

And that creates another risk — that some

countries could be taking on

too much debt. Remember Djibouti? It's

facing what the World Bank calls

"debt distress". Its debt to China amounts

to 70% of its GDP.

And look at Sri Lanka.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa

borrowed billions to develop a massive

new port.

When Sri Lanka struggled to pay back the

money it ended up with a new deal

that gave China control of the port for

99 years.

That led to accusations that the loans

compromised Sri Lanka's sovereignty,

which China denies.

But it's this kind of thing that's

led to some people calling the Belt and

Road Initiative

a "debt trap for vulnerable countries".

Others

disagree.

And

it seems

this success has got Western powers,

especially the United States,

paying more attention.

At the recent G7 summit they set out

their own plan,

complete with its own snazzy

abbreviation — B3W

which stands for Build Back Better World.

They're emphasizing things like

transparency,

good governance, the environment and

bringing in the private sector to help

fund it all.

But B3W is thin on details. There's no

budget

and no timetable.

Now, one way to

look at all this

is that it's another area of competition

between China

and the West.

But maybe

there's another way to look at it.

If China and the West are competing that

could give more choice,

more opportunity and crucially more

money to developing countries that

desperately need it.

The Belt and Road Initiative is about

China's position in the world.

It's their strategy to outshine everyone

on the international stage.

But some countries really don't like the

idea of the Chinese

calling the shots.

If you want to know more there are lots

of reports from Al Jazeera

correspondents about Belt and Road

projects from around the world.

You can find those on YouTube or on our

website. See you next week.