April 25-27th, Beijing hosted the Second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) to promote its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) regional connectivity project. Notably absent were representatives from China’s regional neighbors: India and South Korea did not send official delegations, and Japan was represented by a special envoy rather than a high-ranking official. The United States, too, did not participate. Nevertheless, heads of state from thirty-six countries and attendees from over a hundred more showed up for the unveiling of new programs under the BRI, such as a Debt Sustainability Framework for participating countries, a Green Silk Road Envoys Program to train environmental officials, and a Legal Cooperation Research and Training Program to combat corruption. Participants also signed numerous bilateral and multilateral documents and established new multilateral cooperation mechanisms, such as the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance which will aid in coordination between key investment banks working in participating regions. Still, the Forum appeared to be more of a photo op with symbolic exchanges rather than a substantive meeting. Read the full Policy Alert here.
