What’s happening with the Belt and Road Initiative?

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013, is an ambitious infrastructure project that aims to link the world in a new way. Questions have arisen around the project's sustainability and its high impact on the environment and global security. Its strong foreign policy dimension also creates benefits as well as potential risks for the region. Furthermore, how might other recently announced initiatives-the G7's Build Back Better World and the European Union's New Connectivity initiative-impact the BRI?
Joining this episode of Trade Winds were:
HOST
Cecilia Malmström
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
GUESTS
Jennifer A. Hillman
Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Professor, Georgetown University
Bruno Maçães
Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute; Senior Research Associate, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Trade Winds is a biweekly virtual event series hosted by Cecilia Malmström that explores the future of global commerce in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, including ways that international cooperation on trade can accelerate the recovery.