China's Foreign Policy might be the most reasonable way in history for a peripheral economy to become a global superpower:
"China’s flagship overseas infrastructure finance programme the Belt and Road Initiative increased by three-quarters to a record $213.5bn in 2025 as Beijing sought to take advantage of wavering US influence around the world by pouring funding into development projects.
The surge in new investment and construction deals was dominated by gas megaprojects and green power, according to research by Australia’s Griffith University and the Green Finance & Development Center in Shanghai. Beijing signed 350 deals last year, up from 293 worth $122.6bn in 2024.
The boom in investment comes as tensions between the US and China over trade and technology disrupt supply chains and President Donald Trump’s military interventions roil global energy markets.
Christoph Nedopil Wang, a China energy and finance expert at Griffith University and the study’s author, predicted that Beijing’s spending on the BRI would grow further this year, driven by investments in energy, mining and new technology.
“Global trade and investment volatility will potentially spur further investment for supply chain resilience and alternative export markets for Chinese companies,” he said.
The BRI, launched months after Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, is the Chinese leader’s hallmark foreign development programme, seeking to deepen Beijing’s economic influence and trade ties with the developing world. It has made China the world’s largest bilateral creditor, with 150 countries as BRI partners.
Last year’s figures brought the total cumulative value of BRI contracts and investments since its launch to $1.4tn, the study found.
The growth in 2025 was driven by multibillion-dollar megaprojects..."
https://www.ft.com/content/ab8ef57c-66b6-456b-9c20-e5d8896fa759
#China #BeltAndRoad #BRI #ExternalInvestment