Third Belt and Road Forum confirms how divided the world is

The third global summit of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative( BRI ) took place in Beijing on October 17 and 18, while the rest of the world continued to sleepwalk into a cold war, from Ukraine to Israel at this point.

This summit appears quite different from the first, which was held in May 2017 or even the next in April 2019, based on the number of participants and the major results. & nbsp,

First off, just 23 heads of state took part this time, downward from 37 at the next summit. Secondly, Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, was a guest of honor among the members, many of whom were anti-Western regimes.

Another significant development was the presence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Additionally, Viktor Orban of Hungary not only showed up as expected( he didn’t miss either of the previous conferences ), but he also formally stated his opposition to the de-risking approach taken by the European Union’s financial protection strategy. & nbsp,

Other than Orban, no other EU part joined the BRI Forum, while up to six and seven, both, attended the summits in 2017 and 2019. & nbsp,

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, joined the first two summits this time, breaking with her nation’s custom of & nbsp, though she had already made that intention clear at the September Group of Twenty meeting.

BRI industry decreased

Beyond enrollment, this summit was unique because it has placed a lot more emphasis on foreign policy and much less on enhancing trade and investment connectivity through infrastructure construction. This may be connected to China’s growing disengagement in some of these nations, at least in terms of financing and funding.

According to reports, one-third of BRI projects have encountered difficulties, which is likely why China has significantly reduced expense globally, including in BRIC nations.

Additionally, China’s annual economic development is just half of what it was when Xi Jinping came up with this historic project in 2012. It is challenging to continue funding BRI projects because the Chinese market is struggling with a real estate crumble and an increasing debt load. & nbsp,

The summit’s overarching topic on foreign policy was opposition to that of the US and its allies. & nbsp, This has significant ramifications for the conflict in Ukraine, which the EU and the US have already encountered when voting on Ukraine-related issues at the UN.

The Israel-Gaza issue is becoming yet another factor in the US and China’s disagreement over foreign policy. In fact, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it was siding with Palestine due to its lack of Western safety in the midst of the attacks on Israel.

In general, Beijing’s interactions with the Global South have become crucial for China, and the BRI is a great tool for this. The BRI, however, is not China’s highest-level foreign policy tool because it has been positioned below the” international community of shared future ,” which Xi Jinping uses to describe a more expansive view of where China sees itself in the world.

Any such height needs some particular milestones to be successful, even if foreign policy was the driving force, nbsp. Among the numerous steps that were announced, some of which were not always novel, a dozen stand out.

First, the main goals that accompanied the majority of references to the BRI were both” integrity-based”( which equates to anti-corruption ) and” clean ,”( green ). Second, the announcement of an international AI ( artificial intelligence ) governance initiative.

Regarding financial assets, two presentations were made, albeit on a much smaller scale than in the past: 350 billion renminbi( US$ 48 billion) worth of extra tools for policy institutions, and 80 billion and 11 billion for the Silk Road Fund, respectively. & nbsp,

Last but not least, there was no pertinent news that a multilateral framework was being developed to support BRI projects, so one should anticipate that the organization will continue to be primarily used for hub-and-spoke operations despite the current trend toward foreign policy. & nbsp,

Given everything mentioned earlier, the key issue is how significant the BRI will continue to be. China will continue to advertise the BRI as its overarching program and its top-level design for starting up and win-win global cooperation, according to Beijing’s white papers for the mountain.

In light of this, the BRI is not dissipating; rather, it is changing from being an economical application to a tool for foreign policy. China can no longer afford to finance such a large amount of system in the developing and emerging economies.

Political and diplomatic position, which suggests that the BRI does not require as many users but those who should be aligned, is what matters to China right now. Andnbsp, This is essential for advancing jobs and requirements that may encounter resistance from the US and the rest of the West. & nbsp,

In conclusion, the BRI is emerging as one of China’s main tools for advancing a more anti-Western mission. Some believe that the United States’ republican interest in halting China’s ascent toward ideology is the cause of this agenda. & nbsp, China began this race for others.

Realizing where we stand, which is essentially getting closer to a full-fledged warm war, is what matters most.

Senior research fellow at Bruegel is Alicia Garcia Herrero. Keep up with her on X @ Aligarciaherrer.