More and more countries have signed on to China's Belt and Road Initiative, but "the increase in political partners has not led to a comparable increase in commercial activity." Cecilia Joy Perez discusses contracting amounts of capital invested along the BRI despite expanding formal participation, which she attributes to shrinking foreign exchange reserves and shifts in the sectors most actively targeted by BRI investments.

Based on Cecilia's recent article, "The Belt and Road Initiative Adds More Partners, But Beijing Has Fewer Dollars to Spend" in The Jamestown Foundation's China Brief.

And check out our recommendations for this week:
Cecilia: 1) China Global Investment Tracker 2) Princess Mononoke the film

Juliet: "Rare Earth Frontiers" by Julie Klinger

Erik: 1) Clientelism at work? A case study of Kenyan Standard Gauge Railway project by Yuan Wang & Uwe Wissenbach 2) Parasite the film

Thanks for listening!

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