The Belt and Road Initiative 2.0 is all about security

<div>When the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first announced in 2013, its official objective was to improve connectivity. However, many things have happened since then, from the US-China trade war to US containment of China’s technological rise, as well as China’s much more belligerent approach to the West. How is the BRI changing in this new reality?<br> <br> In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by <a href="https://www.bruegel.org/people/alessia-amighini">Alessia Amighini</a> and <a href="https://www.bruegel.org/people/alicia-garcia-herrero">Alicia García-Herrero</a>. They share the latest findings from their research, showing that the BRI has transformed itself from an economic to a much broader strategy with a political security-oriented focus. It serves as one of several devices uniting the Global South in a new and comprehensive narrative, one with a clear anti-Western tone. Beyond the BRI, this new narrative also features cooperation in the fields of digital governance, as well as academic and cultural exchanges.<br> <br> This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. <a href="https://bruegel.secure.force.com/events/UpdateAcc?sf=1&amp;s4=1">Sign up now</a> to receive it in your mailbox! <br> <br> This is an output of <a href="https://www.bruegel.org/project/china-horizons">China Horizons</a>, Bruegel's contribution in the project Dealing with a resurgent China (DWARC). This project has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101061700.</div>