Majority of China’s BRI projects abroad adversely affected by COVID-19 pandemic: Official

Beijing: Majority of the projects under China’s ambitious multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are either adversely or partially affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Chinese official.

About a fifth of the projects under the BRI, which aims to boost trade and investment across Asia, Africa and Europe to further China’s global influence, had been “seriously affected” by the pandemic, according to Wang Xiaolong, director-general of the foreign ministry’s international economic affairs department.