On February 1, 2024, China will cooperate with the German Federal Foreign Trade and Investment Agency to regularly evaluate projects related to the the Belt and Road Initiative. After the 10th anniversary of the initiative, the agency found two interesting trends different from the early years: the region with the strongest growth of the the Belt and Road project is no longer Africa or Latin America, but neighboring Central Asia and Southeast Asia; China is financing more small projects in different industries under the the Belt and Road Initiative.

The evaluation stated that China has realized the need to adjust its direction now. According to the report of the German Federal Foreign Trade and Investment Agency, the number of Central Asia the Belt and Road projects in 2023 will increase by about 2.6 times compared with 2022. The report suggests that several solar power plants and a green hydrogen project in Uzbekistan are particularly noteworthy.

The evaluation also stated that China hopes to participate in the expansion of the so-called "middle corridor". The report suggests that this move aims to retain alternative transportation routes through Russia.

For the European Union, Central Asia and the Middle Corridor are becoming increasingly important. Central Asian countries are also raising funds to improve transportation links with Europe.

The report also said that at the same time, the the Belt and Road Initiative also has another area of focus: ASEAN. According to the report of the German Federal Foreign Trade and Investment Agency, the the Belt and Road projects of ASEAN countries in 2023 will also show a significant growth, with an increase of about 25% compared with 2022. Of particular note, there are many small projects in the region with investment amounts below tens of millions of dollars.

In addition, projects around the world are becoming increasingly diverse. Projects in the energy sector continue to dominate, especially in the construction or expansion of power plants. The second ranked project is from the transportation department. However, the strongest growth is in the industrial sector across different industries. According to the report of the German Federal Foreign Trade and Investment Agency, more and more manufacturing projects are registered under the framework of the the Belt and Road Initiative, from the textile industry to the optical and electronic industry to the important chemical industry. Editor/Zhao E