World Politics Review published on 2 May 2023 a commentary titled "China Is Looking to Transform Global Development--Again" by Cobus Van Staden.
Since 2016, Chinese lending to countries that signed on to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has dropped dramatically. Debt defaults in the Global South and record unemployment in China contributed to this reduction. Consequently, President Xi Jinping announced in 2021 the Global Development Initiative (GDI). It remains to be seen if the GDI is a rebranding of the BRI or whether the two initiatives will coexist.
