Quotes About BRI

Four-fifths of the container traffic between Asia and the rest of the world, and three-fifths of the world's oil supplies, pass through the Indian Ocean. And now comes the BRI, which, if successfully implemented, may establish China as the dominant power in the Indian Ocean region.

Before Italy, Beijing had succeeded in persuading several Central and Eastern European nations to join the BRI—Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary—as well as Portugal, Greece and Malta in Southern Europe. Italy's joining reinforces the impression that Beijing is pursuing a strategy in Europe of 'use the countryside to surround the city'.

The Conte government has allowed a Chinese firm to buy into the nation's electricity network, and Italy's ports are also expected to feature strongly in the flow of BRI investment, especially in Trieste, which Geraci has said 'must be open to Chinese investments'.153 Trieste's port enhances Italy's role as China's gateway to Europe. (The city also boasts many of the nation's top scientific research institutions.)