Globalization that leaves no one behind: why does Belt & Road matter to the world?

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By CGTN's Ge Yunfei

“Protection will lead to prosperity and strength,” US President Donald Trump promised in his inauguration speech. Indeed, globalization is facing a backlash.

The rebelling working class in Western countries is calling for trade protectionism. Millions more across Africa, Asia and Latin America struggle to even get access to clean water, electricity and roads.

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on February 15, 2017. /VCG Photo

So is globalization coming to an end?

The answer for China is a clear “No”. President Xi Jinping sent a strong signal in his 2017 Davos speech, noting: “The problems troubling the world are not caused by globalization…We should not retreat into the harbor whenever we encounter a storm or we will never reach the opposite shore.”

But how can leaders reduce global inequality and bring benefits to more people? China’s Belt and Road Initiative might be the answer.

“The focus of this initiative is very much on how to build up better connectivity, which includes trade, investment and infrastructure,” said Hu Biliang, president of the Emerging Markets Institute at Beijing Normal University.

Take Asia for example. This fast-growing region will account for almost half of the global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. And an important part of that growth story is infrastructure.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (2nd L) and the general manager of China Railway Corp. Sheng Guangzu (C) attend a ground breaking ceremony for the Jakarta-Bandung fast-train railway line in Walini, West Java province, Indonesia on January 21,2016. /VCG Photo

Rail lines, highways, airports, pipelines, and power plants are in the works. The Asian Development Bank estimates a whopping 800 billion US dollars will be needed each year for the next decade to support these plans.

The new Silk Road Fund is expected to pour in some 40 billion US dollars. The China Development Bank will also contribute US$900 billion, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank US$100 billion. This one trillion dollars in government money does not even include private investment.

With its planned interconnected network from China to Europe, the initiative will cover half of the world population and 40 percent of global GDP.

This will be a great booster to the global economy, pumping out up to 2.5 trillion dollars of trade volume by 2025.

Ground-breaking ceremony of the Nigerian Railway Modernization Project Lagos-Ibadan Section, contracted to China Railway Construction Corporation, on March 20, 2017. /VCG Photo

But apart from better infrastructure and trade flows, what’s more important is technology transfer.

Hu said China has very good technology like high-speed railways, nuclear power plants, ‍and hybrid rice which is very helpful for countries still suffering from famine.

A high-speed railway in central Asia and Indonesia, a deep sea port in Sri Lanka, nuclear plants in Argentina, and a rural grid network in Cambodia: all these projects in the Belt and Road Initiative will be sure to influence millions of lives.

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