| Opis: | The subject of this research is the analysis and achieved results of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as a new model for establishing deeper relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Asian, European, and African continents. The authors have presented and emphasized the importance of the Initiative as a globally comprehensive and the most expensive project of the modern era for developing countries. The initial hypotheses support the claim that the Initiative contributes to the progress of regional economic integration with mutual benefits for both the initiator, the PRC, and other participating countries. The aim of the paper is to highlight the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative, from the implementation of which all members benefit, and not only its initiator, and to assess the current state of the Initiative, as well as its perspectives and development in the future. The paper conducted research on the initial assumptions of the Initiative and what was planned, as well as the achieved results and future perspectives. With this paper, the authors want to point out some of the problems and risks that this Initiative brings, which are primarily reflected in an inadequate assessment for financing certain infrastructure projects of participating countries, or in exceeding their solvency, which consequently leads to the over-indebtedness of the member state. It has been observed that the Belt and Road Initiative is based on mutual benefit for all members, which, through joint investments, contributes to the development of modern infrastructure and economic growth. It has been proven that better relations between the PRC and the rest of the world have been achieved, which are based on the principles of economic cooperation, mutual benefit, and equality. The conclusion of the research is that the member states of the Belt and Road Initiative are at different levels of economic development, and the progress made is not uniform and has characteristic regional differences. Each member country should be involved in the Initiative as much as it can to improve its economy and infrastructure. An important result of the Initiative is the opening of an estimated 420,000 new jobs and the participation of more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations, thereby exceeding all expectations. Another conclusion is that Western countries initially supported the Initiative until they realized the effects of the Initiative and the fact that the PRC is taking the leading role in the world economy. After the good results of the Initiative for exports and the PRC's economy, Western countries have taken many measures to stop the further growth and development of the PRC's economy. The paper uses the historical-comparative method, contextual approach, descriptive statistics, as well as the method of content analysis of documents. |
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