Caixin: Belt and Road Now Leads to Every Central, Eastern European Nation

China Belt and Road Initiative is expanding to reach all 16 nations of Central and Eastern Europe. New agreements being signed with Estonia, Slovenia and Lithuania bring “the total number of foreign countries included in the Belt and Road program to 70,” reports Fran Wang for Caixin. “Chinese companies invested more than $9 billion in the 16 countries last year, triple the $3 billion recorded in 2012.” According to “Bilateral trade rose 4.3% in 2016, [Premier Li Keqiang] said, even though China’s total foreign trade fell by 6.8% that year.” The country is reviewing more connections including the feasibility of extending a Budapest-Greece rail line to Austria. Europe remains the source of most foreign direct investment for the region. – YaleGlobal