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From railways to 5G: why China is plugging into the Digital Silk Road
- Belt and road infrastructure deals have taken a back seat as countries struggle with debt and their priorities shift, analysts say
- Digital projects are ‘taking centre stage’ as Beijing tries to cement its status as a global tech leader and keep the initiative relevant
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China will hold its third Belt and Road Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of this mammoth investment initiative amid doubts of its benefits and sustainability. In the first of a three-part series, Dewey Sim looks at how the Digital Silk Road has emerged as a driving force to keep the initiative appealing and help promote China as a global technology leader.
At the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping touted the global infrastructure-building plan as “a project of the century”.
He recounted the story of the Silk Road, telling world leaders in Beijing that “our ancestors, navigating rough seas, created sea routes linking the East and West”.
From a railway in Indonesia to a port in Pakistan, the Chinese leader said the Belt and Road Initiative had brought “enhanced infrastructure connectivity” to the world.
“We should promote land, maritime, air and cyberspace connectivity, concentrate our efforts on key passageways, cities and projects and connect networks of highways, railways and seaports,” he said.
Six years on, analysts say the huge infrastructure deals Beijing previously championed appear to have taken a back seat as countries struggle with mounting debt and as their priorities shift.
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