Against the prevailing narrative of the The Belt and Road as a top-down strategy to spread China’s geopolitical influence, there is the BRI’s impact through its first decade as emanating «from the middle out and bottom up» via transport-enabled corridors traversing a large number of regions within and across national territories.

China remains a key market for European companies as its economic resilience and large domestic market are vital for them to stay globally competitive, according to a survey released on Monday by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.