Thinking About China
Opinion

China’s Global Belt and Road Investments Now at $1.4 Trillion

A threat to the U.S. world order and an opportunity for $50,000 per U.S. citizen.
China’s Global Belt and Road Investments Now at $1.4 Trillion
A woman sits near a billboard advertising China's Belt and Road Initiative in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on July 1, 2024. Valeria Mongelli/Getty Images
Anders Corr
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Commentary
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a grouping of approximately 150 countries that signed agreements with Beijing in exchange for Chinese foreign investment. Last year, BRI reached nearly $1.4 trillion in total funding, with a record $213.5 billion in deals in 2025. China’s state-owned enterprises get most of this money in exchange for building energy infrastructure, ports, rail, and the like abroad. Countries that join often accrue debt owed to Beijing.
Anders Corr
Anders Corr
Author
Anders Corr has a bachelor’s/master’s in political science from Yale University (2001) and a doctorate in government from Harvard University (2008). He is a principal at Corr Analytics Inc. and publisher of the Journal of Political Risk, and has conducted extensive research in North America, Europe, and Asia. His latest books are “The Concentration of Power: Institutionalization, Hierarchy, and Hegemony” (2021) and “Great Powers, Grand Strategies: the New Game in the South China Sea” (2018).
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