EU announces BRI alternative

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

• China’s global investment strategy to enhance regional connectivity and to build a brighter future through a large programme of investments in infrastructure development for ports, roads, railways and airports, as well as power plants and telecommunications networks.
• The official name for the initiative is the” Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Development Strategy”
• Flagship project of President Xi Jinping, launched in 2013 at Kazakhstan. The BRI forms a central component of Xi Jinping's "Major Country Diplomacy" strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role for global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status
• Officially, it aims to develop land and sea infrastructure to better connect China to Asia, Europe and Africa via land and maritime networks with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth.
• It is inspired from the concept of the Silk Road established during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago – an ancient network of trade routes that connected China to the Mediterranean via Eurasia for centuries. The BRI has also been referred to in the past as 'One Belt One Road'.
• The initiative defines five major priorities:
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  • policy coordination;
•  infrastructure connectivity;
•  unimpeded trade;
•  financial integration;
•  and connecting people.

The initiative was incorporated into the Constitution of China in 2017. 

About G7

G-7, or “group of seven,” is primarily a political forum of global leaders of top industrialized nations, formed in response to the oil shock of the 1970s. Members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission represent the EU at G-7 summits