BRI From the Ground Up: Leaders from 129 countries evaluate a decade of Beijing’s signature initiative

In a crowded marketplace, how do those who make and shape development policies view Beijing’s value proposition relative to other major powers? The results of AidData’s 2022-2023 Perceptions of Chinese Overseas Development Survey (BRI Perceptions Survey) underscore Beijing’s durability as a preferred infrastructure partner and the path dependence of its investments, which remain strongly associated with transportation, energy, and telecommunications. However, although leaders appreciate the economic potential of its development model, Beijing’s brand does not extend as readily into social, environment, and governance sectors.In this report, we analyze how 1,650 public, private, and civil society leaders from 129 countries think about the PRC as a development partner, the trade-offs of its projects, and the BRI overall. Respondents came from 23 policy areas of expertise. To our knowledge, this is the first survey to systematically capture perceptions of the BRI comparably among those who make and shape development policy across the Global South. Leaders do not view the PRC’s contributions through rose-colored glasses but neither do they embrace an unhelpful debt trap diplomacy narrative which diminishes their agency to chart their own path.