Belt and road projects can’t be written off

Showing commitment: Engineers of China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group (CREC-5) posing for a group photo to celebrate the completion of the China-Laos railway Ban Konlouang Tunnel in the Namor District of Oudomxay Province, Laos on April 29,2020. The 9,020m Ban Konlouang Tunnel, in the Namor District of Oudomxay Province, some 400km north of Vientiane, goes through harsh geological conditions, which make its construction a key bottleneck project of the railway. The China-Laos Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed BRI and Laos’ strategy to convert Laos from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub. — Xinhua

CHINA’s recent survey shows that 60% of the world’s Belt and Road projects have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, but it will be misreading Beijing if one believes that the infrastructure ventures will be placed on the backburner.

Briefing the media in Beijing on June 19 on the outcome of the “High-level video-conference on Belt and Road international cooperation” held on June 18, a senior Chinese official said a survey showed that about 20% of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are “seriously affected” by the pandemic while 30%-40% are impacted at various degrees.