Belt and Road Monitor, Edition 8, 2025
This edition of the Belt and Road Monitor covers developments from 1 to 31 August 2025. If you enjoy our Belt and Road coverage, consider checking out Janes IntelTrak, a visual analytics tool that tracks and maps the global activities of Chinese and Russian companies in real time and includes expanded analysis of projects highlighted in "Top Developments." The Monitor draws from transactional data collected daily by our proprietary tool, Janes IntelTrak, as well as research compiled by our team of analysts.
Belt & Road at a glance
Value of all new BRI projects:
USD2.64 Billion
(Estimated)
Sub-Saharan Africa
Was the Region W/ The Highest Value of new BRI projects
6
4G & 5G Network system deployed
Largest new transaction USD1 Billion
Highway Construction and financing
lagos, nigeria
Chinese BRI Transactions in USD Billion
Graph notes: These transactions include Chinese loans and grants but also contracts and subcontracts. Not all transactions will come to fruition, and this graphic does not account for cancellations, disruptions, failure to disburse funds, etc. This depicts the announced values of transactions with involving Chinese entities operating overseas, which could include Chinese funded projects but also foreign funded projects involving Chinese contractors, across multiple BRI-linked sectors.
Belt and Road Initiative top developments
China Looks to Expand Investment in Nauru’s Key Industries
On 5 August 2025, Nauru's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Lionel Aingimea, travelled to Beijing to sign a project proposal with representatives of a company known as the "China Rural Revitalization Development Corporation (CRRDC)." The company reportedly pledged to invest AUD1 billion (~USD650 million) in key local industries, including agriculture, fisheries, renewable energy, and phosphate mining, and plans to send a team to Nauru in October to develop a three-phase investment roadmap. Janes exclusive analysis uncovered likely ties between the chairman of the CRRDC and China’s powerful economic planning institution, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
China and Brazil Sign AI Co-operation Agreements as China Seeks to Influence Global South AI Architecture
On 6 August 2025, Brazil's public technology company Serpro and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) signed a co-operation agreement to develop digital governance standards in artificial intelligence (AI). The agreement specifically focuses on the usage of AI and its data in the public sector. CAICT is a research institute directly under the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, playing an important role in standards and policy development and execution.
Chinese State-Backed Rail Groups Advance East African Trade Integration with USD2.15 Billion Cross-Border Railway Project
On 16 August 2025, the prime minister of Tanzania and the president of Burundi broke ground on the 282-kilometre (km) standard gauge railway valued at USD2.15 billion. Burundi and Tanzania originally signed an agreement for the project in January 2022, and in January 2025 China Railway Group Limited (CREC) and China Railway Engineering Consulting Group Co., Ltd. (CRECG) contracted to build the rail. This is the first cross-border railway in East Africa linking Uvinza, Tanzania, to Musongati, Burundi.
CHEC to Build and Partially Finance Lagos-Abuja, Nigerian Highway
On 19 August 2025, AEC Unity Network announced that China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) will construct a 100 km section of highway from Lagos to Abuja, Nigeria. The total length of the highway is 470 km, and the construction is set to begin before the end of 2025. It is estimated to be completed in four years and cost between USD4-5 billion. For its 100 km section of construction, CHEC will finance USD1 billion.
Months After Signing on to BRI, China to Serve in Advisory Role as Colombia Advances Plans for Multiple Rail Corridors
On 22 August 2025, a meeting was held between Chinese companies and Colombia’s Ministry of Transport and sub-agency, the Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura (ANI), or National Infrastructure Agency, where the Chinese ambassador announced Beijing’s intention to advise the Colombian government on the development, financing, and execution of priority railway projects with the intent to advance the following corridors: Interoceanic, the Yumbo-Caimalito, Pacific (Buenaventura-Palmira), Villavicencio-Puerto Gaitán, Bogotá-Belencito, and the Bogotá region connection with the central railway corridor. This agreement comes after the May 2025 accession of Colombia to the BRI.
New Project Locations
What They're Saying
PETER M. DRUCKER, Senior Analyst, Janes Geoeconomic Influence and Threat Intelligence On the attendance of BRI partner countries at China’s military parade as an indication of support for Beijing’s military modernisation.
“The parade explicitly showcased China’s efforts to modernise the PLA; it also implicitly displayed the underlying structure that will be used to support the PLA in prolonged conflict. While the attendance of these BRI participants not only reflects China’s diverse supply chains, strategic connectivity, and access to critical resources, it was also an endorsement of Chinese global leadership. The CCP’s message was clear – if choosing between the United States and China, choose China.”
By the Numbers
