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<\/p>\nASTANA \u2013 Africa and Central Asia emerged as the top destinations for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investments, attracting $39 billion and $25 billion, respectively, in the first half of 2025, according to a joint research report by Australia-based Griffith University and the Beijing-based Green Finance and Development Center.<\/p>\n
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A China-Europe freight train from Kazakhstan arrives at Xi\u2019an International Port. Photo credit: Xinhua\/Li Yibo<\/p>\n
The report, published on July 17, indicates that the first half of 2025 marked a record high for BRI activity, with construction contracts reaching $66.2 billion and investments totaling approximately $57.1 billion, making it the most active six-month period since the initiative began in 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This amounts to roughly $124 billion through construction contracts and investments across 176 deals in the first half of this year, compared to $122 billion in BRI engagement for all of 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding BRI investments, Kazakhstan was the single largest recipient with approximately $23 billion in investments in 2025 H1, followed by Thailand ($7.4 billion) and Egypt ($4.8 billion),\u201d reads the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In terms of sectors, the energy, metals and mining, and technology sectors observed growth in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. The report noted that the focus of BRI international engagement remains in energy (35%).\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Photo credit: China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Investment Report 2025 H1<\/p>\n
\u201cCompared to the early years of the BRI, the transport sector dropped to its lowest level of only 7.2% share of BRI engagement. Meanwhile, the metals and mining sector continued to expand its role as the second largest sector with about 20%, while the share of the technology sector contracted slightly to 13.3%,\u201d reads the report.<\/p>\n
Investments in technology and manufacturing across BRI countries more than doubled to reach $23.2 billion, with a notable focus on solar power, electric vehicle batteries, and hydrogen.<\/p>\n
In comparison, investments in metals and mining reached a record high of $24.9 billion in the first half of this year, surpassing any previous full year since 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKazakhstan saw the most important engagement through $12 billion in aluminium and another $7.5 billion in copper,\u201d reads the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report indicates that BRI investments are unlikely to be significantly impacted by global economic turmoil.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 2025, a further expansion of BRI investments and construction contracts seems possible despite (or because of) global economic headwinds driven by U.S.-led trade impositions. On the one hand, there is a clear need for investments to green boost growth to support the green transition, both in China and in BRI countries,\u201d reads the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n