China’s biggest foreign-policy project spans over 150 countries. India is not one of them, and it stayed out on purpose.
🕰️ Timeline
2013 — BRI Is Launched
- Sep 2013 President Xi Jinping unveils the initiative through speeches in Kazakhstan and Indonesia.
2015 — India’s Objection Sharpens
- 2015 The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship BRI project, is launched. India protests, since CPEC runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
✊ Must Know
What BRI Is
- Launch China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. President Xi Jinping unveiled it. He initially called it “One Belt One Road.”
- Structure BRI has two components: the Silk Road Economic Belt (land routes) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (sea routes).
Scale
- Reach BRI has attracted over 150 countries and international organisations, spanning Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America.
💡 Good to Know
Why India Stays Out
- Sovereignty India objects mainly over the CPEC. It passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, territory India claims as its own.
- Debt trap India has also raised concerns about project opacity and debt-trap risk for smaller nations that borrow heavily from China for BRI projects.
The Hambantota Example
- Sri Lanka Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port could not service its BRI-linked debt. It was leased to a Chinese state firm for 99 years. India often cites this case as evidence of debt-trap risk.
Test Yourself
🌟 Great to Know
India’s Counter-Offering
- Response Rather than joining BRI, India has pushed its own connectivity projects and partnerships. This positions India as an alternative, transparent infrastructure partner for South Asia and beyond.
📝 Previous Year Questions
UPSC CSP 2016 — Which Country’s Affairs BRI Relates To
- UPSC 2016 The correct answer is China. President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative in September 2013. It has two components: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. See UPSC CSP 2016 GS Paper I, Q72.
Beyond the answer
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