China Reduces Belt and Road Initiative Investments... Impact of Foreign Ministry Budget Cuts

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] China has reduced the recruitment of new diplomats and the scale of Belt and Road Initiative (connecting China-Central Asia-Europe via land and sea Silk Road) investments.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 13th, citing materials submitted by the Chinese government to the National People's Congress (NPC), that "last year, the budget of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was 51.41 billion yuan (approximately 9.5134 trillion KRW), down 16.47% from the previous year."

The reduction in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget is the exact opposite of the annual increases seen until 2019. Although the Chinese government materials did not specify the details of the budget, it was conveyed that this was in response to the Chinese Communist Party leadership and the State Council's call to "tighten the belt."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also newly recruited 142 diplomats this year, the smallest scale since 2012. It is known that 170 new diplomats will be recruited next year, but the scale of new diplomat recruitment in China has been limited to between 142 and 217 over the past decade.

Last year's Belt and Road investment also decreased by 54% compared to the previous year, amounting to 47 billion dollars (approximately 55.3942 trillion KRW). The Chinese think tank Green BRI explained, "This is the lowest level since the Belt and Road project started in 2013."

SCMP stated, "Despite China's growing global ambitions and diplomats being at the forefront, China's diplomatic investment has decreased," and "Chinese diplomatic experts point out that the scale of Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff recruitment is inconsistent with China's global ambitions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.