Following the Forum: China's Belt and Road Initiative and the EU

The sheer size of China's financial investments and infrastructural commitments towards its Belt and Road Initiative―reportedly the most ambitious infrastructural project of the 21st Century―has led to the project’s economic implications dominating the discussing, and to the neglect of other important aspects for the people and environment along its routes.

And as China’s Belt and Road Initiative is relentlessly heading forward, thorough research, analysis and debates become more important than ever to better understand and shape future challenges arising from this gigantic initiative.

Questions on how Europe will be able to compete with China’s financial commitments and ambitions in the different regions of the world will need to be answered to, and very soon.

Based on the results and findings of a joint report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) titled "Silk Road Economic Belt: Considering Security Implications and EU-China Cooperation Prospects", this policy brief goes further by exploring additional cooperation avenues through which China, the EU and local states could pursue mutual benefits, common development, and shared security.

Building on further research and a number of interviews in Brussels, Berlin and Beijing, the publication offers precise recommendations and proposals on how converging interests of China and Europe can be matched to achieve development goals and to minimize security risks along the revived Silk Road.

Read more and download the paper here.