“It is a very confusing name,” admits Peter Cai, the author of a recent report about Belt and Road, who blames China’s propaganda-focused state media for failing to properly explain the concept to the world. “There is still a lot of confusion about what the Belt and Road initiative is and what it actually entails.”

Belt and Road can "solve global woes," according to state-run Global Times newspaper. "The ambitious plan is not empty talk," the official Xinhua News Agency declared, highlighting that China has already invested more than $50 billion in 20 countries along the routes

“Russia’s elites’ high expectations regarding Belt and Road have gone through a severe reality check, and now oligarchs and officials are skeptical about practical results,” said Alexander Gabuev, senior associate at the Carnegie Center in Moscow.

First off, the Belt and Road has failed. It has become the object of relentless criticism, if not ridicule: across the globe, projects have been attacked as overvalued and disconnected to the developmental needs of host countries. Indeed, they are mired in corruption, incompetence and skewed to China’s strategic interests.

Chinese officials have repeatedly said the Belt and Road is purely an economic project with peaceful intent. But with its plan for Pakistan, China is for the first time explicitly tying a Belt and Road proposal to its military ambitions — and confirming the concerns of a host of nations who suspect the infrastructure initiative is really about helping China project armed might.

Belt and road

Meaning

Name