The Diplomat published on 6 September 2022 a commentary titled "What Happened to the Belt and Road Initiative?" by Andreea Brinza, Romanian Institute for the Study of the Asia-Pacific.
Nearly a decade after its launch, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is slowly vanishing from Chinese leaders' speeches. But the Chinese narrative about developing the world hasn't disappeared; it just mutated toward a new initiative: The Global Development Initiative (GDI).
The BRI has become just another slogan that fits China's needs. The BRI's image has been affected over the past five years by accusations of debt traps, colonialism, ecological issues, and poor standards. China is not replacing the BRI with the GDI, but the former is slipping into a latent state, while the GDI is attracting more attention in high level speeches. The BRI is not dead and will not easily disappear but does face stiff competition.
