Towards common development through China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The huge gap in economic development between developed countries and developing countries has negative impacts on globalization’s contribution to the world. To promote socioeconomic development in Southeast Asia and narrow the gap between rich and poor countries, China implemented the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, perceptions of the BRI around the world are polarized. We used Hsiao–Ching–Wan empirical analysis to provide a more objective way to interpret the BRI and found that the initiative achieved a positive average treatment effect (i.e., a beneficial policy response) of 14.8% for China’s real GDP from 2014 to 2018, of 82.0% for real investment, and of 129.6% for real net exports. Using Kazakhstan and India as examples of member BRI countries and non-member countries, respectively, BRI also achieved a positive average treatment effect of 13.2% and 2.1% for real GDP, respectively. Thus, the BRI is a win–win initiative for both members and non-members. Our analysis, combined with the current situation and our review of other studies, showed that a lack of confidence in the BRI by some countries has slowed BRI’s development. China and other developed countries should therefore make greater efforts to promote development in poor countries along the BRI routes and improve the common development of all humans.