Rewriting Global Economy: How BRI is Empowering Developing Countries, Alleviating Poverty, and Improving Living Conditions

From the traditional era to what we now call an interconnected world, the world has gone through several stages with respect to interaction and trade. Certainly, the primitive age saw really limited interaction of humanity with trade relations, but the societies evolved and paved the way to reach this modern and new world called globalization. Consequently, following the line of earlier ancient dynasties of China, the Chinese government initiated the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, connecting up to the world. Mega flagship project of China emancipating shorelines onto/from built society-integrated areas and developing countries to create smooth routes connecting countries.

One flagship project of China with more than 155 countries, with an investment of trillions of dollars and representing more than 60 percent of the global population and 40 percent of the global GDP. China is integrating and helping developing, underdeveloped countries in creating jobs, infrastructure, and social, political, and economic indicators. Alone in Africa, China is working to improve the social indicators of people but also generate jobs. For example, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in Kenya alone, which connects the two affluent cities through a BRI project, enhances connectivity and harnesses the growth of the economy by creating 40,000 jobs. Such training given to local people helps them generate income and uplift their social indicators. Schools have been built in the peripheral regions of host countries where the BRI project has been incorporated, in which thousands of children are getting education as well as other facilities.

BRI is the establishment of roads, improvement of infrastructure, construction of railroads, hospitals, and schools, and provision of employment opportunities for the common good for all. Improved trading infrastructure means added trade profusion. The Asian Development Bank has estimated that this project could create 7.8 million jobs by 2030. For instance, by the end of 2022, CPEC alone had generated nearly 236,000 jobs in the construction and energy sectors in Pakistan.

The Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF), which was held in October 2023 in China, is one of the most significant events tied to the BR aimed at expanding and reinforcing the international cooperation that the initiative promotes. Eight key steps for the BRI future were proposed, such as enhancing policy coordination, deepening integrity-based development across all fields, incorporating artificial intelligence governance, fostering multidimensional international relations, supporting poor countries, promoting green development, and transitioning to low carbon emissions and climate-resilient projects. Importantly, the third BRF emphasized environmental sustainability as a central theme for the future BRI projects. The Forum highlighted global health cooperation, improving public health infrastructure, including projects that support hospitals and research projects.

The BRI projects, such as the Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Zambia, have provided some 5000 jobs in the manufacturing sectors. In 2022, China’s trade with Africa stood at over 250 billion dollars, and the BRI expects to further jack up these numbers by providing infrastructure. In the meantime, African countries require somewhere in the range of 60 to 108 billion dollars yearly to go into development. With time and favorable circumstances, the BRI would give a lift of some 1.3% to the overall GDP, whereas developing countries within its area would drastically benefit, with some African countries and Central Asian states reaching an increased yearly economic growth rate of around 2%.

The Belt and Road Initiative is compatible with the Sustainable Development Goals; it is going to change half of the world’s problems lying within incomplete SDGs. According to international reports, BRI may lift 32 million persons from poverty. China, teaching technology, helps the host countries to address their issues by providing loans.   Countries that were sending their citizens to other countries in search of jobs have now started giving jobs to the people under the BRI projects.

BRI has invested across various sectors to spur development globally. Investments include over $1 trillion in building infrastructure, above $200 billion in energy projects, and around $100 billion in telecommunications. In construction and urban projects, some $150 billion has been invested by China, while $50 billion is directed at agriculture. The initiative has also provided $10 billion plus for health, $5 billion in education, and slightly more than $50 billion for green energy, thus laying long-term growth with economic stability for beneficiary countries.

Chinese leadership is engaging to helping out poor countries to improve their situations. The ports that were constructed by China have and will, in the same instance, benefit the host countries along with China by way of increased exports and revenue earnings. Countries/host countries can access larger international markets.

The ports provide ship repairs, refueling, and accommodation for crews, and so on, which could provide a steady stream of income for the host country. These services go a long way to providing a steady stream of income as the ships need these services more and more often. In addition, if the ports are located along major international shipping routes, they will see many more services coming from such an international situation; hence, more money will come to the country in terms of income from docking, repairs, and supplies.

Some ports situated in the good tourist zones earn by entertaining cruising vessels and providing services for the tourists. Therefore, they earn revenue from the tourists arriving and related services provided at the port. For instance, ports in Greece and those in the Caribbean earn huge amounts of income as they are considered main stops for cruise ships that bring with them an extra influx into the local tourism industry, thereby bringing in more business to nearby shops, restaurants, and attractions.