Belt and Road Initiative: What It Means for the World

Chaman Gautam

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a sweeping transcontinental vision that came to be known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—a grand plan to build infrastructure and connectivity across Asia, Africa, Europe, and beyond. Often compared to the ancient Silk Road, the BRI aims to weave a vast network of trade routes, ports, railways, highways, and digital corridors. At its heart, it is a bid to reshape global trade, expand Chinese geopolitical influence, and export China’s development model.
The BRI has two main components: the Silk Road Economic Belt, which links China to Central Asia and Europe through land routes, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which connects China to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe through sea lanes. As of 2025, over 150 countries have signed cooperation agreements with China under the initiative, involving trillions of dollars in pledged investment across energy, transportation, mining, digital infrastructure, and industrial parks.
So, why is China pushing the BRI so aggressively?
Firstly, it is a strategic response to the overcapacity in Chinese industries like steel, cement, and construction. By exporting its infrastructure capabilities abroad, China keeps its domestic industries running. Secondly, it helps China secure energy routes, especially in volatile regions like the Middle East. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), for example, offers an alternative to the Strait of Malacca choke point. Thirdly, it reflects a long-term ambition to shape a China-centric global order by creating economic dependence and influence over participating countries through infrastructure diplomacy, soft loans, and trade integration.
However, the BRI is not without its criticisms. Several countries, including Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Kenya, have found themselves trapped in unsustainable debt, with projects sometimes failing to deliver promised benefits. The Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, leased to China for 99 years after debt default, has become a cautionary tale of “debt-trap diplomacy.” Geopolitically, the BRI has led to increased suspicion and pushback, especially from the West, which sees it as a tool for extending China’s strategic and military reach.
India’s Dilemma and Opportunity
India has chosen to stay out of the BRI, citing sovereignty concerns, particularly regarding the CPEC, which runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Yet, India cannot afford to ignore the global transformation this initiative is triggering.
What can India learn?
1. Vision-Driven Diplomacy: The BRI demonstrates the power of long-term strategic planning. India must develop its own connective vision for Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific, rooted in mutual benefit and transparency.
2. Infrastructure Diplomacy: India’s successful initiatives like the Chabahar Port in Iran, the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and ties with ASEAN and African nations are positive steps but need scale, speed, and sustained investment.
3. Neighborhood First: While China builds roads in Nepal and railways in Sri Lanka, India must counter with timely, quality-driven, and people-centric projects in its immediate neighborhood, strengthening regional goodwill and trust.
4. Digital and Green Corridors: India could focus on creating digital infrastructure alliances, clean energy corridors, and sustainable development partnerships—an alternative to the debt-heavy, carbon-intensive Chinese model.
5. Quad and Global Partnerships: India should work closely with like-minded partners—Japan, the U.S., Australia, and the EU—to offer transparent, viable, and inclusive infrastructure alternatives under mechanisms like the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII).
In a multipolar world, India must not mirror China, but rather present a distinct developmental model—based on transparency, respect for sovereignty, and sustainability. The BRI, for all its flaws and ambitions, serves as a reminder that infrastructure and connectivity are the new currencies of global power.
India must now ask itself: Will it remain a reactive observer, or will it step up to shape the new map of global influence?