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Research: China's BRI Goal Is Outsourcing Surplus Industry

Saibal Dasgupta

   BEJING - China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is regarded globally as
   the most ambitious project ever designed for building connectivity
   infrastructure like roads, railways and ports. New research shows,
   however, that China is investing just one-third of the BRI funds in
   connectivity infrastructure and instead is allocating two-thirds of the
   money for energy projects.

   The investigation published by the Mercator Institute of China Studies
   (MERICS) in Berlin suggests that China is building energy facilities
   with the goal of relocating its surplus industrial capacity to nearly
   two dozen different countries, analysts said.

   "China's initial focus on energy projects creates the preconditions for
   the next phase of the BRI: industrial build-up and new China-cantered
   supply chains," MERICS said in its report, "Powering the Belt and
   Road."

   A portion of Chinese factories have moved to Vietnam and other places
   in Southeast Asia because of shrinking demand and new environmental
   laws that have made it impossible for many of them to continue using
   old machinery. China did its best to convince beneficiary countries it
   was keen to develop their infrastructure, such as roads, railways and
   ports. As a result, a large-scale migration of industrial capacity was
   not expected.

   China's goals

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