The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout is having a profound impact on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its regional relations. More immediately, the BRI faces budgetary challenges as China’s leadership focuses its resources instead on revitalising the economy at home and maintaining social stability. Meanwhile, key regional partners of the BRI are also contending with economic crises linked to the global health outbreak, raising concerns over BRI related debts and loans. But the pandemic has also raised wider questions around China’s regional role in a COVID-affected world which will impact both the vision and shape of the BRI as it continues to evolve as China’s flagship foreign policy.
Against this backdrop, the panel will reflect on both the short and long term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the BRI and China’s regional relations. What challenges has the pandemic posed for the BRI and its regional partners? How will it affect the BRI’s continued evolution? How will China’s regional role evolve in light of the pandemic? And what role will the BRI have to play?
This event is part of a fortnightly series of ‘Business in Focus’ webinars reflecting on the impact of COVID-19 on areas of particular professional interest for our corporate members and giving circles.
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Participants
James Crabtree, Associate Fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House
James Miles, China Editor, The Economist
Chair: Dr Yu Jie, Senior Research Fellow on China, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House
