Most BRI projects involve significant changes in land use, the expansion of large infrastructure and the intensification of social and environmental processes. For example, companies responsible for constructing BRI projects do not pay sufficient attention to international and host country environmental requirements, nor do they adequately inform affected populations of the impacts of these projects. In this context, China’s gradual relaxing of pandemic policies will closely affect the renewal of the Belt and Road projects. Sustainability is a key component of the BRI’s future because BRI countries alone could exacerbate global warming if sufficient action is not taken. A BRI sustainability viewpoint may be most beneficial, given that the SDGs clearly aim to benefit all people on the planet and have been regarded as the most universally agreed-upon international agenda.
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