China’s Belt and Road initiative: can Europe expect trade gains?

Arbeitspapier

The Belt and Road initiative, recently embarked on by China, aims to improve cross-border infrastructure in order to reduce transportation costs across a massive geographical area between China and Europe. The authors estimate how much trade might be created among Belt and Road countries as a consequence of the reduction in transportation costs (both railway and maritime) and find that European Union countries, especially landlocked countries, should benefit considerably. This is also true for eastern Europe and Central Asia and, to a lesser extent, south-east Asia. In contrast, if China were to seek to establish a free trade area within the Belt and Road region, EU member states would benefit less, while Asia would benefit more. Xi Jinping’s current vision for the Belt and Road, centred on improving transport infrastructure, is very good news for Europe as far as trade creation is concerned.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Bruegel Working Paper ; No. 2016/05

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; International Economic Order and Integration ; International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations ; Economywide Country Studies: Asia including Middle East
• Subject: China ; Belt & Road initiative ; infrastructure ; international economic system

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): García-Herrero, Alicia ; Xu, Jianwei
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Bruegel
• (where): Brussels
• (when): 2016

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/173141
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET