Chinese companies are involved in over 200 coal projects in 25 BRI participant countries, including Pakistan, Serbia, and Kenya [Get Ready for an Energy Export Battle with China]. Hence, the BRI’s environmental record is often pointed out as the soft underbelly of the project alongside the financial sustainability of large infrastructure-related loans.
A less examined component of the BRI are the logistics networks along the project. A recent study identifies a number of barriers that companies face when operating under the umbrella of the BRI. These include regulatory barriers due to non-transparent laws, maritime transport barriers created by overcapacity in sea freight, capacity shortages of railway infrastructure and more [Decrypting the Belt and Road Initiative: Barriers and Development Paths for Global Logistics Networks].
Another key barrier concerns the lack of harmonization between European and Chinese activities in the context of the BRI. A high degree of harmonization is unlikely to materialize in the near future as many European countries are more and more skeptical of the Belt and Road Initiative and China’s foreign policy in general [EU’s common goals but clear language for China]. Still, the Chinese government is likely to continue to address regulatory and transport barriers that impede trade in order to improve the logistics between China and the rest of the world and in turn strengthen the BRI.
Mirela Petkova
|
|
