Five stylized facts on Belt and Road countries and their trade patterns

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) offers investment opportunities for several Eurasiancountries but not all of them attract investments in the same way. This paper investigatesthe geographical distribution of BRI projects completed between 2013 and 2020. Theanalysis shows that pre-existing trade patterns are related to the likelihood of a countryreceiving completed BRI projects. We single out and provide evidence in support of fi vestylized facts. First, BRI countries with completed projects tend to be poorer and larger.Second, projects are more likely to occur in countries with intense intermediate trade withChina. Third, the countries that received projects have more diversifi ed export structuresand their sectoral specialization overlaps with that of China. Fourth, among middle-high-income countries, the allocation of projects tends to favor those with high levels of intra-industry trade. Fifth, among BRI countries with projects, the complexity or sophisticationof the goods traded increases faster with income. These findings suggest that fosteringtrade integration has direct benefi ts and may also contribute to further BRI investments.