The One Belt One Road (OBOR), the brainchild of Chinese President Xi Jinping, is an ambitious project that focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among multiple countries spread across the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. Dubbed as the „Project of the Century” by the Chinese authorities, OBOR spans about 78 countries.
Initially announced in the year 2013 with a purpose of restoring the ancient Silk Route that connected Asia and Europe, the project’s scope has been expanded over the years to include new territories and development initiatives. Also called as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the project involves building a big network of roadways, railways, maritime ports, power grids, oil and gas pipelines and associated infrastructure projects.
The project covers two parts. First is called the „Silk Road Economic Belt” which is primarily land-based and is expected to connect China with Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Western Europe. The second is called the „21st Century Maritime Silk Road” which is sea-based and is expected to will China’s southern coast to the Mediterranean, Africa, South-East Asia and Central Asia.
They contain following six economic corridors:
Additionally, the maritime Silk Road connects coastal China to the Mediterranean via Singapore-Malaysia, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.