Over the past six years since its inception, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has grown exponentially, starting with investment in infrastructure, but quickly expanding to include education, media and tourism, a report said.

Over the past six years since its inception, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has grown exponentially, starting with investment in infrastructure, but quickly expanding to include education, media, tourism, and wider culture-related projects, a report said.

Having provided the initial impetus through considerable investment from its foreign-currency reserves of more than $3 trillion, consensus is that the Chinese government is now reaching the limits what it is prepared to spend, making diversified funding sources an important driver for sustaining growth over the next few years, added the report titled “A guide to market participation” released by Deutsche Bank.

“With an ever-evolving and expanding project such as the BRI, it is always valuable to pause, evaluate the successes to date, and pinpoint areas that will need addressing going forward,” said Dirk Lubig, head of Global Transaction Banking China at Deutsche Bank.

“Two critical components – third-country participation and the focus on sustainable financing solutions – have come to light as drivers of the project’s future success. With this in mind, structured BRI deals, involving suppliers and financiers outside China and its immediately neighbouring countries, can offer widespread benefits for all stakeholders involved.”

The paper outlines the timeline and scope of the BRI’s growth and expansion and includes a series of case studies illustrating the financing and impacts of BRI projects across the globe. Turning to the future evolution of the scheme, China’s Belt and Road Initiative: A guide to market participation explains how investment from global banks and investors will be essential to maintaining funding for BRI-related projects, especially those within higher-risk regions.

Another focus of the report is the growing interest in sustainable financing for BRI projects evidenced by the 33 signatories to the Green Investment Principles following their launch in November 2018. Environmental, social and corruption risks are ever-present in such large-scale developments. Yet movements to promote the sustainability of these projects – on a social, economic and environmental level – are gaining traction with investors.

“The BRI has driven enormous development since its inception – growing far beyond President Xi Jinping’s original vision,” added Hunter Xiong, head of Belt & Road Initiative Office, Deutsche Bank. Given this, it is important to re-evaluate where the boundaries of the project now lie, and consider how it can evolve in a prosperous and sustainable manner. This report looks to provide the foundations for such an evaluation, while bringing readers up to speed with the journey so far.” – TradeArabia News Service