In a speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana (now part of Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana), Xi Jinping proposed building a “Silk Road Economic Belt.” This is widely treated as the starting point of what later became the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), signaling a push for overland transport and economic links across Eurasia.
Speaking to Indonesia’s legislature in Jakarta, Xi Jinping called for a “21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.” Together with the earlier overland proposal, this framed BRI as both land and sea connectivity, linking ports, shipping routes, and coastal infrastructure with trade and investment goals.
China announced plans to create the Silk Road Fund to support investment along BRI routes. The fund was designed to provide financing for projects such as infrastructure and industrial cooperation, adding a dedicated financial tool to move BRI from speeches to implementation.
Silk Road Fund Co., Ltd. was established in Beijing, formalizing the new investment vehicle. Its creation mattered because it helped channel capital into BRI-related projects and partnerships in participating countries.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce issued "Vision and Actions" for jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. This document helped translate broad ideas into an official framework, including priorities like infrastructure connectivity, trade, and policy coordination.
During a visit to Pakistan, China and Pakistan signed a large package of agreements and memorandums linked to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). CPEC became one of the best-known BRI corridors, illustrating how BRI often advanced through large, country-specific bundles of energy and transport projects.
Representatives of prospective founding members signed the Articles of Agreement for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing. AIIB was not the same as BRI, but it complemented BRI’s goals by creating a major multilateral bank focused on infrastructure financing.
AIIB’s founding treaty entered into force after required ratifications were reached. This marked the transition from planning to an operating institution, expanding the set of international financing options for infrastructure projects in Asia and beyond.
China held the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, bringing together heads of state and government and international organizations. The forum mattered because it positioned BRI as a long-term international platform where projects, financing, and policy coordination could be publicly promoted and negotiated.
A resolution adopted at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China incorporated pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative into the Party Constitution. This step mattered domestically because it elevated BRI from a policy program to a long-term political commitment tied to Party priorities.
China hosted the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, as criticisms grew about debt, governance, and environmental impacts in some projects. The forum’s documents and messaging highlighted goals like sustainability, transparency, and project quality, signaling an effort to adjust how BRI was presented and implemented.
China’s Ministry of Finance released a Debt Sustainability Framework for participating BRI countries, drawing on the IMF/World Bank approach for low-income countries. The framework was meant to encourage debt-risk analysis and more careful project financing choices, responding to international concerns about debt distress.
In remarks to the UN General Assembly, Xi Jinping said China would “not build new coal-fired power projects abroad” and would step up support for green and low-carbon energy in developing countries. Because many overseas energy projects had been linked to BRI-era financing and construction, this pledge signaled a major shift in the types of projects China said it would support internationally.
China held the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on the 10th anniversary of BRI’s initial proposals. The event highlighted BRI’s continued role in China’s foreign economic strategy while reflecting a period of recalibration toward risk control and “high-quality” cooperation.
Belt and Road Initiative (2013–present)