China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will now expand to the European borders in 2024. The Communist country has signed trade agreements with countries bordering Europe and Asia. The recent trade agreements covered Azerbaijan and Georgia in the BRI plan to strengthen economic ties with the South Caucasian nations.

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Expanding China’s Trade Influence: BRI in Europe

The new China Belt and Road Initiative with the European nations covers infrastructural developments, streamlined customs procedures, and improved logistics. China’s growing involvement in the new trade corridor is designed to expand the East-West trade policies. Azerbaijan and Georgia are the Middle Corridor between Asia and Europe and China is trying to capitalize on the development.

“The signing of the memorandum gives us the opportunity to establish closer trade and economic ties with China, to attract additional investments in the country, and also to increase the export of Georgian products to China,” Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development said in a statement.

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China Brings Belt and Road Initiative to Developing European Nations

China’s Belt and Road Initiative was solely focused on Asia and other African countries. This is China’s first time pushing the BRI into the European borders. For the uninitiated, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a policy where the Communist country provides billions in loans to develop infrastructural projects in developing countries.

China’s BRI has varied policies for different countries, from building ports to infrastructural developments and aiding economic growth. However, the Belt and Road Initiative has come under criticism, as China is accused of taking over a nation’s finances through the project.

Now that China’s Belt and Road Initiative has reached the European borders, we must see how the emerging economies navigate the project. Most of the countries that accepted the BRI project, such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, have experienced financial turmoil.

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Sri Lanka’s economy almost collapsed in 2021, while the others are struggling to repay China’s loans. Failing to repay the loans would give China the leverage to take over the country’s ports and finances.