The "China Platform" website, in cooperation with the German Federal Agency for Trade and Investment, regularly evaluates projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative. After the initiative's 10th anniversary, the agency identified two interesting trends from its early years: The strongest growth in BRI projects is no longer in Africa or Latin America, but in neighboring Central and Southeast Asia; China is financing more small projects in different industries under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The assessment said China had recognised that it now needed to change course. According to the report of the German Federal Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment, the number of Belt and Road projects in Central Asia in 2023 will increase by about 2.6 times compared with 2022. Several solar power plants and a green hydrogen project in Uzbekistan are of particular concern, according to the report.

China also wants to participate in the expansion of the so-called Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, the assessment said. According to the report, the move is aimed at preserving alternatives to transit routes through Russia.

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

At the same time, the Belt and Road Initiative has another region of focus: ASEAN, the report added. The report by the German Federal Trade and Invest Agency said that ASEAN countries also saw a significant increase in Belt and Road projects in 2023, increasing by about 25% compared with 2022. Particularly striking is the number of small projects in the region with investments of less than $10 million.

In addition, projects around the world are becoming more diverse. Projects in the energy sector continue to dominate, especially the construction or expansion of power plants. In second place are projects in the transportation sector. However, the strongest growth was in the industrial sector of different industries. According to the report by the German Federal Agency for Foreign Trade and Invest, from textiles to optics and electronics to the important chemical industry, an increasing number of manufacturing projects are being registered under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Editor/Xu Shengpeng