What Is The Belt & Road Initiative And How Does It Influence The Cities Of Tomorrow

Intercity connectivity is a major initiative with the potential to change the game plan for socioeconomic development across the globe. Within the larger context of globalisation, intra and interregional cooperation projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have a huge opportunity to become accelerators for worldwide development.

But what exactly is the BRI, and what are the challenges ahead given today’s complex political climate?

The BRI started out as a transcontinental long-term policy and investment program by China, in close collaboration with the World Economic Forum, which targeted infrastructure development and acceleration of the economic integration of countries along the historic Silk Road route. Since then, today it has become a template for interregional trade and development, designed on a foundation of sustainability, inclusiveness, and resilience. As cities are the main locations for modern development, intercity connections can create a functional ecosystem that goes beyond the current limits of any city and strengthen globalisation. A recent report on this initiative, released by the World Economic Forum, analysed the flow of key factors and the connectivity levels between BRI cities, as well as what can be done to improve it.

The report selected 22 BRI cities across Asia, Africa and Europe, based on policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, closer people-to-people ties, and information connection. It measured the flow of key factors such as capital, goods, and information, as well as exploring solutions to improve intercity connectivity. Some key recommendations that followed, in order to increase interconnectivity, included: taking advantage of existing strengths in order to reinforce strong connections; using geographical proximities and cultural similarities to develop neighbouring areas with similar cultural backgrounds; building connections through digital transformation; strengthening city-to-city exchanges to build partnerships among cities; and sharing methodologies to enhance city connectivity.

The cities that topped the Belt and Road Cities Connectivity Index are Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Seoul. Amongst the best practices and key initiatives in Singapore, a few stand out, such as a convenient cross-border trade and tariff policy, building strong trade partnerships, adopting open policies towards foreign capital, ensuring an education system that combines a global perspective with East Asian culture and having a forward-looking digital strategy in place.

The aim now is for more cities to be included in the BRI to cover additional geographical regions, while balancing inland and coastal cities. This will help combine the resources and strengths of all parties in order to draw lessons and create a platform for sharing data, methodologies and services.

What are the challenges standing in the way of connectivity?

Most cities face different challenges in making this interconnectivity a reality, which puts hurdles ahead of their economic development. To date, for example, there are no mainstream frameworks assessing the connectivity of global cities in a multidimensional way, which slows down any potential progress in this area.

Another major and obvious challenge resides in the political aspect of such an initiative. Western powers may be resistant to a project heavily propelled by China, giving the country a growing position of power and influence at a time when many of its practices towards its own population are being seriously questioned outside of its borders - in particular the treatment of ethnic Uyghurs in the region of Xinjiang, as well as political dissidents and those critical of the Chinese government.

This is, of course, further exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the West’s position on Russia, with sanctions, renewed tensions and the growing energy crisis all playing major roles whose actors will most likely take considerable time to resolve, with international barriers to global cooperation that we haven’t witnessed since the end of the Cold War. This additional scenario can make an initiative such as the BRI appear as a further battle for global sovereignty, as opposed to a common driving force for good in a truly global and fully cooperative world - which is what the project should ultimately be about.

So, with socioeconomic, cultural and political barriers to deal with, much like the ongoing war, finding optimal diplomatic solutions to a complex and intricate project is the only way to ultimately make it work at a global scale - and that is going to take some serious skills from all powers at play.

In the meantime, however, there’s nothing stopping authorities at a local and regional level from impulsing such initiatives to foster collective growth and collaboration between cities, which can ultimately set the stage for a larger global initiative. In that respect, the report offers key lessons which I recommend as food for thought.