Economics and trade impact of the Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative

This paper examines the effects of BRI on Southeast Asian countries and global economic relations. It aims to answer the following puzzles: (1) What are the key trends of BRI?; (2) How has BRI affected China’s trade and investment patterns, its diplomatic reach, and its soft power in the Southeast Asian region?; (3) What are the economic implications of BRI for global economic relations?; and (4) Why is BRI still perceived as a debt trap by the regional states? To shed light on these questions, I chose to analyse the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor (CICPEC) under the Silk Road Economic Belt.Published versio