CHINA’s recent survey shows that 60% of the world’s Belt and Road projects have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, but it will be misreading Beijing if one believes that the infrastructure ventures will be placed on the backburner.
Briefing the media in Beijing on June 19 on the outcome of the “High-level video-conference on Belt and Road international cooperation” held on June 18, a senior Chinese official said a survey showed that about 20% of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are “seriously affected” by the pandemic while 30%-40% are impacted at various degrees.