Thinking About China
Opinion

Beijing Tries to Reboot Its Belt and Road Initiative

Xi’s charm offensive at this year’s Belt and Road Summit shows how sad and weak the initiative has become.
Beijing Tries to Reboot Its Belt and Road Initiative
A security guard stands at the entrance to the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum on May 14, 2017 in Beijing, China. Thomas Peter - Pool/Getty Images
Milton Ezrati
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Commentary

Recognizing how its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has weakened, Beijing took the occasion of this year’s summit to press something of a makeover. However, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke glowingly of the future, he effectively described the same arrangements that have long prevailed: China would provide less developed nations with financing and skills to build needed infrastructure and manage the projects once completed.

Milton Ezrati
Milton Ezrati
Author
Milton Ezrati is a contributing editor at The National Interest, an affiliate of the Center for the Study of Human Capital at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and chief economist for Vested, a New York-based communications firm. Before joining Vested, he served as chief market strategist and economist for Lord, Abbett & Co. He also writes frequently for City Journal and blogs regularly for Forbes. His latest book is "Thirty Tomorrows: The Next Three Decades of Globalization, Demographics, and How We Will Live."
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