The Belt and Road Initiative was declared mature, complete, and even winding down in some Western coverage over the past several years. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan does not agree. The BRI retains a central role in the plan’s vision of how China builds and controls the global supply chains it depends on.

The 15th FYP frames supply chain strategy in terms of vertical integration and PRC control — not just participation in global trade flows, but ownership of the infrastructure, logistics, financing, and standards that govern them. The BRI is the primary vehicle for building that control offshore.