China’s Top Economic Planning Agency Issued a Report About the BRI That Policymakers in Africa and Elsewhere in the Global South Should Read Carefully

The National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC), China’s top economic planning agency, published a new report on Tuesday, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper, that detailed some of the key challenges confronting Beijing’s new 5-year plan, with a particular focus on infrastructure development as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

In short, the NRDC warned that the combined effects of the ongoing pandemic, worsening ties with the United States, and heightened geopolitical risk in certain emerging markets will all adversely impact financing Belt and Road infrastructure projects:

• COVID-19: “Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the world economy is in recession and under increasing pressure. The foundation of our country’s economic recovery is not yet steady. Some local governments and enterprises have certain difficulties in their economic and financial situation, the resources they can put into the Belt and Road Initiative will be affected.”

• GEOPOLITICAL RISK: “Belt and road construction is facing an increasingly complex geopolitical environment… Some BRI countries have long term high geopolitical risks and certain regions have seen an escalation in conflict.”

The report’s conclusion, though, was by far the most revealing about China’s continued willingness to finance large-scale infrastructure projects in developing countries: “[There is a need to] push forward the development strategies and strengthen implementation with countries that are comparatively more willing to cooperate, and implement agreements that have been signed,” it said.

This means countries that meet the following criteria may be well-positioned to continue benefitting from the BRI:

1. Favorable to China in the current geopolitical environment
2. Have signed BRI contracts ready to implement
3. Are politically stable
4. Posses high degrees of connectivity (transportation, location, telecommunications, etc…)

But for other countries that lack one or more of these conditions, it will likely become more difficult to persuade Chinese creditors to make sizable financial commitments until the pandemic subsides and tensions with the U.S. have eased.

Read more on this story on the South China Morning Post website.

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The post China’s Top Economic Planning Agency Issued a Report About the BRI That Policymakers in Africa and Elsewhere in the Global South Should Read Carefully appeared first on The China Africa Project.

source https://chinaafricaproject.com/2021/04/21/chinas-top-economic-planning-agency-issued-a-report-about-the-bri-that-policymakers-in-africa-and-elsewhere-in-the-global-south-should-read-carefully/