China's Belt and Road Initiative is being tested by COVID-19, as several host countries have requested debt relief. How China proceeds will determine the overall success of the initiative.

Due to Pakistan’s flawed policies, Iran has become the new favorite BRI country of China in the South Asian and Middle Eastern region.

Positive feedback is abundant about the Belt and Road Initiative and China’s motives for introducing it, suggesting that the negative attitude of the United States so far is unfounded.

The celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1 will be an exuberant affair, involving glitzy cultural events, an extravagant state dinner attended by Chinese and foreign luminaries, and a grand military parade in Tiananmen Square. And, at a time of high tensions with US President Donald Trump’s administration, it will be imbued with an extra dose of patriotic enthusiasm. But while China has much to celebrate, it also has much work to do.

The Belt and Road Initiative is slowly evolving from a mere label describing various ad hoc projects into a formal institution. The Second Belt and Road Forum underscores progress in creating multilateral architecture.

The second Belt and Road forum showed that despite persistent challenges, the initiative is an evolving one and will continue to gain international support. However, its success will depend on its ability to integrate and reconcile an increasing number of actors and interests.

Critics often claim that China is using its massive “Belt and Road Initiative” as a form of coercive “debt-trap diplomacy” to exert control over the countries that join its transnational infrastructure investment scheme. This risk, as Deborah Brautigam of John Hopkins University recently noted, is often exaggerated by the media. In fact, the BRI may hold a different kind of risk – for China itself.

It is impossible to predict the full environmental impact of the Belt and Road Initiative, so it is critical that Chinese authorities take full advantage of every opportunity to consciously build a greener Belt and Road.

Despite recent Belt and Road successes, including EU states joining, the China-led initiative still faces accusations of “debt-trap diplomacy.” The details of infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka and beyond, however, show that the Belt and Road is pushing for a new era of more equitable globalization based on “hard” and “soft” connectivity, without disrupting the existing rules and world order.

During the Second Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Summit last month, the Chinese government notably shifted its focus and is now downplaying fears of debt encumbrance, corruption, and environmental degradation. But this should not distract us from the key fact that participation in the BRI continues to grow, including from traditional U.S. allies in Asia and Europe.