Termites of corruption are now visible in Chinese President Xi Jinping's dream project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For the first time, BRI will come under the scrutiny of the country's anti-corruption body. China has invested billions of dollars in the BRI and it has faced allegations of corruption, as well as allegations that projects in small and medium-sized countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka have turned into debt traps. Fighting corruption in the BRI will be one of the priorities of the 2024 work report of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported.
What improvements will be made?
According to a news agency, the CCDI report emphasizes the need to eliminate the foundations of corruption, pursue reforms in the system, and enhance the organizational development of inspection commissions and inspection agencies. In a report submitted two months ago by CCDI chief Li Xie, the organization will coordinate actions both locally and overseas this year, it said in a post. The anti-corruption campaign will seek to target bad practices and corruption in rural revitalization and bring transparency to the Belt and Road Initiative, the report said. Both the trade and infrastructure BRI and the rural revitalization strategy are ambitious policies of President Xi. It was launched in 2013 to further China's global influence. It also made him an influential world leader.
What is BRI?
China also calls the Belt and Road Initiative project the New Silk Road. China wants to connect Europe and East Asia by building infrastructure. Apart from roads, this project also includes sea route. The road will connect China with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe, while it will connect the coastal areas with Southeast and South Asia, West Asia, the South Pacific, East Africa and Europe. According to a report published in The Guardian in 2018, the cost of this project is more than 1 trillion dollars.