By Hammeed M. Bello, PhD
The Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, floated in 2013 by President Xi Jinping of China is fastly gaining international momentum in an increasingly competitive global community. From a modest socioeconomic platform at inception, the BRI has grown into a multilateral mechanism for economic engineering and physical development in 2023, drawing membership from over 150 countries in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America, including about 41 international organisations and 10,000 delegates from across the continents who attended the last Belt and Road Forum, BRF held last October in Beijing.
From 2013 to 2022, the total value of China’s trade in goods with key Belt and Road partner countries is estimated to have grown at an average annual rate of 8.6 percent, and the two-way investment exceeded USD 270 billion. Newly signed contracts for projects are worth over USD 1.2 trillion, and an array of infrastructure projects including roads, bridges and ports have been commissioned, further promoting land, maritime, air and cyberspace connectivity. This is quite inspiring. Also, the World Bank has estimated that by 2030, Belt and Road cooperation will bring an annual benefit of USD 1.6 trillion to the world, accounting for 1.3 percent of the global GDP, a reasonable contribution to global development.
From available record, the BRI has so far attracted impressive trade flows, opened up connectivity and has provided an alternative platform for an inclusive world order which allows for concrete, tangible outcomes to drive mutually beneficial infrastructural and economic development across continents. The target as promised by China, is a win-win for all member countries in trade, commerce and investment flows, by opening up access in sea, air and land transportation, and expanding economy and infrastructure between China and other BRI countries. China is believed to be the fastest growing economy in the world and the BRI, just as the BRICS of which China is also a member, provides a window to shift more from a unipolar economic world order to a much more multipolar economic world order, the potential of which could break, for instance, the unhealthy monopoly resulting in the imbalances in trade among countries of the world. This can potentially put a nail on the coffin of protectionism which prevents the free flow of trade among countries of the world.
In pursuit of the ideals of the BRI, China as it were is adopting practical truths, other than ideology to build infrastructure to connect by means of connectivity projects so that people in different parts of the global community could be linked together to bring more inclusion and development for all. This is based on the thinking that through the BRI mechanism, greater connectivity will enhance greater productivity and improvement in living conditions, better business climate and prosperous global economy. The ultimate goal of the BRI, it appears, is to bring about a pragmatic, mutually beneficial economic growth to make life more meaningful to the Chinese as well as the global citizens without undue meddlesomeness in the internal affairs of participating countries.
This is added to the advantage of China having a supersize market with 1.4 billion people, including over 400 million in the middle-income group. According to available record, China is a major trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions. This signals enormous potential in China’s consumption and export. China is also an innovation powerhouse and has complete industrial and infrastructure systems. Its high-tech industries such as new energy vehicles (NEVs), 5G and photovoltaics (PV) are highly competitive. China is also deeply integrated into the international system, making huge progress amid globalization and benefiting the world in the process. As President Xi Jinping puts it, “all countries are in a community with destinies linked.”
Recall that from October 17 to 18, the third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation was held in Beijing, China, under the theme of “High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity”. Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening of the Forum that the BRI has introduced new life into the global economy, creating new opportunities for global development, and building a new platform for international economic cooperation. According to President Jinping, two sessions of the BRF had held before, with over 20 specialized multilateral cooperation platforms already signed under the BRI. President Xi then announced 8 major steps China will take to support joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to include: building a multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network, supporting an open world economy, carrying out practical cooperation, promoting green development, advancing scientific and technological innovation and supporting people-to-people exchanges. Other steps include promoting integrity-based Belt and Road cooperation, strengthening institutional building for international Belt and Road cooperation.
President Xi said in his keynote speech that he will speed up high-quality development of the China-Europe Railway Express, participate in the trans-Caspian international transportation corridor, and host the China-Europe Railway Express Cooperation Forum. Jinping also announced that China will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector, and that China will support an open world economy, with its total trade in goods and services expected to exceed 32 trillion U.S. dollars and 5 trillion U.S. dollars respectively in the 2024-2028 period. He said efforts will be made to further advance high-standard opening up in cross-border service trade and investment, expand market access for digital and other products, and deepen reform in areas including the state-owned enterprises, digital economy, intellectual property and government procurement.
The BRI, according to the Chinese Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr Cui Jianchung in an article, has evolved from ideas into actions, from a vision into reality, and from a general framework into concrete projects. Jianchun said under the BRI, more than 3,000 cooperation projects were constructed, nearly US$1 trillion in investments were generated and 40 million people were lifted out of poverty. The Belt and Road cooperation has made historic achievements and has benefited more than 150 countries, opening up a road of cooperation, opportunity and prosperity leading to common development. The BRI has become a popular international multilateral organization for public good and is arguably one of the largest international cooperation platforms in the world today. Other multilateral organizations such as the United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, and the BRICS are formed to work on issues of common interest. The BRI is taking that further beyond common interest to include common destiny in the words of the Chinese President.
The third session of the Belt and Road Forum in October was considered to be a huge success, with a total of 458 outcomes achieved, far more than the second BRF. Nigeria is always a strong partner of BRI. And Vice President Kashim Shettima attended the third BRF representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and separately with the Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. During his meeting with Vice President Shettima, President Xi identified that there have been many high points in the Belt and Road cooperation between China and Nigeria. He said many cooperation projects including railways, ports, power stations and communications backbone networks have been completed in succession, and remarkable achievements have been made in the development of free trade areas. He noted that China is ready to continue working with Nigeria to push for more tangible outcomes for China-Nigeria and China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation and help Nigeria and Africa realize industrialization and agricultural modernization. China stands ready to enhance personnel exchanges at all levels with Nigeria to advance high-quality practical cooperation, the Chinese President was reported as saying.
Vice President Shettima congratulated China for successfully hosting the third BRF, and noted that Nigeria and China are good friends who have collaborated and supported each other in times of difficulties. China, Shettima said, has always treated Nigeria and other African countries with respect and as equals, and has done its best to support the African people in seeking independence and development. He thanked China for proposing a series of important global cooperation initiatives for developing countries, providing valuable assistance for Nigeria’s development, and boosting the industrialization process of Nigeria and Africa at large. He stressed that Nigeria is ready to further deepen Belt and Road cooperation with China and steer Nigeria-China relations to greater heights. Vice President Shettima also addressed the High-Level Forum on Digital Economy, stating that Nigeria is keen on using the instrumentality of the existing robust Nigeria-China bilateral relations to maximally key into projects under the platform of the Digital Silk Road for the improvement of Nigerian digital space.Vice President Shettima later witnessed the signing of MOU between the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure and three Chinese partners for new projects valued at $2 billion, as well as letters of intent between the Chinese and Nigerian partners for new projects and investments worth $4 billion. Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Works also signed an MoU with China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd for the construction of the Lekki Blue Seaport contract at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos. Nigeria and China had established diplomatic ties in 1971, and a strategic partnership in 2005. In 2018, Nigeria signed the Belt and Road cooperation agreement with China. Since then, Nigeria has become China’s biggest contractor market, second largest trading partner and major investment destination in Africa. Major projects such as Lekki Deep Sea Port, Zungeru Hydroelectric project, Lagos-Ibadan train route, Abuja-Kaduna rail line, Abuja-Keffi-Lafia-Makurdi road dualisation, as well as several airport terminals, undertaken by Chinese enterprises, have either been completed or ongoing.
The BRI is proceeding on a worthy note, and the Chinese government needs to stay focused on the integrity of the initiative, not to deviate from its laudable objectives, especially in the aspect of both non-interference in the internal processes of member countries and the principle of equality for all.
