In late 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21. The Century Maritime Silk Road” is a major transport and trade corridor project that envisages the use and development of strategic straits, passages, ports and oceans, especially land corridors extending from Asia to Europe and Africa.
These massive projects, also called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), are designed to improve regional integration, boost trade and stimulate economic growth. The BRI is a very broad investment program aimed at developing infrastructure for power plants, communication and transport networks, as well as ports, roads, railways and airports.
- Purpose
Building a large integrated market, taking full advantage of both international and local markets through cultural exchange and integration, increasing the mutual understanding and trust of member countries, ensuring an innovative capital inflow are some of the objectives.
It is estimated that Asia will continuously increase its current infrastructure spending over the next decade, mostly through borrowing, and will need infrastructure investment of $900 billion a year. That is why China aims to offer a great source of finance and investment to close this gap.
- Member States
As of November 2023, 154 countries, which account for more than two-thirds of the world’s population and more than 50 percent of the global GDP, have signed on to the project or indicated interest in it.
Table 1: BRI Participating Countries
Country | Region | Income Group |
---|---|---|
Afghanistan | South Asia | Low income |
Albania | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Algeria | Middle East & North Africa | Upper middle income |
Angola | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Antigua and Barbuda | Latin America & Caribbean | High income |
Argentina | Latin America & Caribbean | High income |
Armenia | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Austria | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Azerbaijan | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Bahrain | Middle East & North Africa | High income |
Bangladesh | South Asia | Lower middle income |
Barbados | Latin America & Caribbean | High income |
Belarus | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Benin | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Bolivia | Latin America & Caribbean | Lower middle income |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Botswana | Sub-Saharan Africa | Upper middle income |
Brunei Darussalam | East Asia & Pacific | High income |
Bulgaria | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Burundi | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Burkina Faso | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Cabo Verde | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Cambodia | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Cameroon | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Central African Republic | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Chad | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Chile | Latin America & Caribbean | High income |
China, P.R. | East Asia & Pacific | Upper middle income |
Comoros | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Congo, Dem. Rep. | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Congo, Rep. | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Cook Islands | East Asia & Pacific | Upper middle income |
Costa Rica | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Côte d’Ivoire | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Croatia | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Cuba | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Cyprus | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Dominican Republic | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Czech Republic | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Djibouti | Middle East & North Africa | Lower middle income |
Dominica | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Ecuador | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Egypt, Arab Rep. | Middle East & North Africa | Lower middle income |
El Salvador | Latin America & Caribbean | Lower middle income |
Equatorial Guinea | Sub-Saharan Africa | Upper middle income |
Eritrea | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Estonia | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Ethiopia | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Fiji | East Asia & Pacific | Upper middle income |
Gabon | Sub-Saharan Africa | Upper middle income |
Gambia, The | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Georgia | Europe & Central Asia | Lower middle income |
Ghana | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Greece | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Grenada | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Guinea | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Guinea-Bissau | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Guyana | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Honduras | Latin America & Caribbean | Lower middle income |
Hungary | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Indonesia | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Iran, Islamic Rep. | Middle East & North Africa | Upper middle income |
Iraq | Middle East & North Africa | Upper middle income |
Jamaica | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Kazakhstan | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Kenya | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Kiribati | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Korea, Rep. | East Asia & Pacific | High income |
Kuwait | Middle East & North Africa | High income |
Kyrgyz Republic | Europe & Central Asia | Lower middle income |
Lao PDR | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Latvia | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Lebanon | Middle East & North Africa | Upper middle income |
Lesotho | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Liberia | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Libya | Middle East & North Africa | Upper middle income |
Lithuania | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Luxembourg | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Madagascar | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Malawi | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Malaysia | East Asia & Pacific | Upper middle income |
Maldives | South Asia | Upper middle income |
Mali | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Malta | Middle East & North Africa | High income |
Mauritania | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Moldova | Europe & Central Asia | Lower middle income |
Mongolia | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Montenegro | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Morocco | Middle East & North Africa | Lower middle income |
Mozambique | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Myanmar | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Namibia | Sub-Saharan Africa | Upper middle income |
Nepal | South Asia | Low income |
New Zealand | East Asia & Pacific | High income |
Nicaragua | Latin America & Caribbean | Lower middle income |
Niger | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Nigeria | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Niue | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
North Macedonia | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Oman | Middle East & North Africa | High income |
Pakistan | South Asia | Lower middle income |
Palestine | Middle East & North Africa | Low income |
Panama | Latin America & Caribbean | High income |
Papua New Guinea | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Peru | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Philippines | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Poland | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Portugal | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Qatar | Middle East & North Africa | High income |
Romania | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Russian Federation | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Rwanda | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Samoa | East Asia & Pacific | Upper middle income |
Sao Tome and Principe | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Saudi Arabia | Middle East & North Africa | High income |
Senegal | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Serbia | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Seychelles | Sub-Saharan Africa | High income |
Sierra Leone | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Singapore | East Asia & Pacific | High income |
Slovak Republic | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Slovenia | Europe & Central Asia | High income |
Solomon Islands | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Somalia | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
South Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa | Upper middle income |
South Sudan | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Sri Lanka | South Asia | Lower middle income |
Sudan | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Suriname | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Syrian Arab Republic | Middle East & North Africa | Low income |
Tajikistan | Europe & Central Asia | Low income |
Tanzania | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Thailand | East Asia & Pacific | Upper middle income |
Timor-Leste | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Togo | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Tonga | East Asia & Pacific | Upper middle income |
Trinidad and Tobago | Latin America & Caribbean | High income |
Tunisia | Middle East & North Africa | Lower middle income |
Türkiye | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Turkmenistan | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income |
Uganda | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |
Ukraine | Europe & Central Asia | Lower middle income |
United Arab Emirates | Middle East & North Africa | High income |
Uruguay | Latin America & Caribbean | High income |
Uzbekistan | Europe & Central Asia | Lower middle income |
Vanuatu | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Venezuela, RB | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income |
Vietnam | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income |
Yemen, Rep. | Middle East & North Africa | Low income |
Zambia | Sub-Saharan Africa | Lower middle income |
Zimbabwe | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income |