China’s Belt and Road, 10 years on

In September 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled an ambitious plan for economic integration on a global scale. A decade since the launch of what’s known as the Belt and Road Initiative, around 152 countries have signed trade and infrastructure deals with China. Beijing says the initiative will benefit the entire world and lift millions out of poverty. But critics, including the US and major European countries, say the programme has been a debt-trap for developing countries and merely serves to expand Beijing’s influence abroad. Amid growing geopolitical tensions, Italy, the only major Western nation to sign up with the initiative, is considering pulling out of the deal.