• Brazil has decided against joining China’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), becoming the second country after India in the BRICS bloc not to endorse the mega project.

• Brazil, headed by President Lula da Silva, will not join the BRI and instead seek alternative ways to collaborate with Chinese investors, Celso Amorim, special presidential adviser for international affairs.

• Brazil stands apart from many of its South American neighbours by not participating in China’s BRI. Despite previous administrations expressing some openness to Chinese investments, Brazil has not signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the BRI. 

• As of December 2023, approximately 150 countries have engaged with the initiative, with Brazil and India notable exceptions among developing nations, especially considering their shared BRICS membership.

Why India opposes BRI?

India has been more explicit in its rejection of the BRI, citing three main concerns:

• Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity: India has raised issues related to the BRI corridor’s implications for sovereignty, particularly concerning projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

• Debt Trap Diplomacy: India is wary of the BRI pushing smaller economies into unsustainable debt situations and environmental risks.

• Transparency Concerns: India’s decision reflects skepticism about the BRI’s broader geopolitical motivations and a lack of transparency in its operations.

What is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)?

• China’s President Xi Jinping launched multi-billion dollar BRI in 2013 to undertake big infrastructure projects in the world which in turn would also enhance Beijing’s global influence. 

• It aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.

• China has become a major trading partner for more than 140 countries and regions, it leads the world in total volume of trade in goods, and it is a major destination for global investment and a leading country in outbound investment.

• As a collaborative endeavour, the BRI has been welcomed by the international community both as a public good and a cooperation platform, President Jinping, who has aggressively promoted the BRI, said in a report he presented to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last month.

• The BRI is seen as an attempt by China to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments all over the world.

• The $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which connects Gwadar Port in Balochistan with Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of Xi’s ambitious BRI.

• The 3,000-km long CPEC is a collection of infrastructure and other projects under construction throughout Pakistan since 2013.

The land-based Silk Road Economic Belt envisions six key corridors for development:

• China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

• New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor

• China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor

• China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor

• China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor.

• China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)