Key findings

• 2025 H1 saw the highest BRI engagement ever for any 6-month period, with USD 66.2 billion in construction contracts and about USD 57.1 billion in investments;
• China’s energy-related engagement in 2025 was the highest in any period since the BRI’s inception, reaching USD 42 billion, an increase of 100 per cent compared to 2024 H1;
• Oil and gas engagement surged to record highs of about USD44 billion, higher than in all of 2024, particularly through oil/gas processing facilities construction contracts in Nigeria (USD 20 billion);
• Green energy engagement reached new records with USD 9.7 billion in wind, solar, and waste-to-energy projects and an installed capacity of about 11.9 GW of green energy;
• China continued to invest in coal-related activities through various construction of coal mine infrastructure;
• The metals and mining sector reached new records, surpassing the full year of 2024 (which itself was a record year) in the first 6 months of 2025 with about USD 24.9 billion—mostly through investments and in minerals processing (about USD 10 billion into mining);
• The technology and manufacturing also broke records and reached almost USD 23.2 billion with high-tech engagements in solar PV, EV batteries and in hydrogen (in Nigeria);
• Africa and Central Asia topped the rank of BRI engagement, reaching USD 39 and USD 25 billion, respectively (unseating the Middle East);
• BRI investments in 2025 were driven by private sector companies, dominated by East Hope Group, Xinfa Group and Longi Green Energy;
• Since its establishment in 2013, cumulative BRI engagement reached USD 1.308 trillion, with about USD 775 billion in construction contracts, and USD 533 billion in non-financial investments;
• For the rest of 2025, we see stabilisation of Chinese BRI engagement with a focus on BRI engagement in renewable energy, mining and new technologies;
• Global trade and investment volatility will potentially spur further investment for supply chain resilience and alternative export markets for Chinese companies;
• Potential future engagements remain in six project types: manufacturing in new technologies (e.g., batteries), renewable energy, trade-enabling infrastructure (including pipelines, roads), ICT (e.g., data centres), resource-backed deals (e.g., mining, oil, gas), high visibility or strategic projects (e.g., railway, ports).