China is launching international projects as if its “window of opportunity” is about to close.
President Xi Jinping unveiled three projects in the previous three years, almost ten years after he first unveiled the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 under the name One Belt One Road. Global Security Initiative (GSI) in 2022, Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) in 2023, and Global Development Initiative (GDI) in 2021 were all declared by Beijing. Xi has spearheaded the efforts, which represent Beijing’s parameters for China’s involvement with the rest of the world.
The various projects have high objectives and address many facets of China’s international relations. The main focus of the BRI is infrastructural connectivity, which has steadily grown to include financial, trade, policy, and people-to-people connection. “Pool efforts to tackle challenges post-COVID recovery for achieving common sustainable development” is the stated goal of the GDI. “Eliminate the root causes of international conflicts” is the stated goal of the GSI. In the meanwhile, the GCI promotes tolerance for both the variety of civilizations and the universal principles shared by all people.
These Chinese activities in Nepal provide both possibilities and hazards throughout the Himalayas. Nepal yearned to join the BRI with all of its heart. China’s BRI ambitions now include the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network. The BRI agreement was inked between the two countries in 2017. The planned train network that would straddle the Himalayas has been marketed by Nepalese politicians as their answer to breaking free from total reliance on India. But since then, not much progress has been made in putting the BRI into practice in Nepal.