China's Trade With Belt And Road Initiative Nations Hits Nearly $8Trln Over 7 Years

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2021) Trade between China and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries has amounted to almost $8 trillion over seven years, Zhang Hanhui, the ambassador to Russia, said on Wednesday.

"Since the Belt and Road Initiative was introduced seven years ago, the total trade between the partner states has exceeded $7.8 trillion, with direct investment having surpassed $110 billion," the ambassador told a press conference.

The BRI is China's international infrastructure project seeking to promote cooperation between Beijing and over 60 of its trading partners in Asia, Africa and Europe. It was announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013 and comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt, which a transcontinental passage that links China with Asia and Europe by land, and the Maritime Silk Road, an oceanic route that connects the country with Asia-Pacific, the middle East, eastern Africa and Europe.