China’s Development Expertise is Essential for Belt and Road Success
For ten years, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) loans have supported the bricks and mortar of roads, power, and ports in plans requested by China’s partners. Investing in visible infrastructure wins hearts and minds with daily reminders of help received from China. Finance, though necessary, is not sufficient to create sustainable development unless accompanied by strong social institutions. Infrastructure projects with or without international financing sometimes lack sufficient consultation and engagement with affected communities. Without this connection there can be insufficient spreading of the economic benefits. An exclusive infrastructure focus also undermines sustainability as local knowledge and needs are often overlooked. China’s plan to invest 780 billion yuan worth of investment in BRI by 2028 shows that its aspiration for global leadership will not lack finance. There is urgency to organize China’s latent expertise into a cadre of knowledge brokers in the science of de