Kazakhstan tops China's Belt and Road investment with $23 bln as BRI spending hits recordKazakhstan has become the largest recipient of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investments in the first half of 2025, securing $23 billion as Beijing’s total spending under the infrastructure program surged to a record $124 billion, a new report revealed.Chinese firms signed BRI-related contracts worth $124 billion from January to June, already exceeding the $122 billion recorded for all of 2024, according to a joint study by Australia’s Griffith University and the Beijing Green Finance and Development Center.The report noted 176 new deals in the first six months of 2025, including multiple megaprojects each valued over $10 billion. "China’s investment acceleration this year is remarkable, even accounting for the post-pandemic rebound," said Christoph Nedopil Wang, the study’s lead researcher.Africa remained the top regional destination with $39 billion in investments, followed by Central Asia at $25 billion. The energy sector dominated, with oil and gas projects hitting a record $44 billion, nearly half of which came from a single $20 billion refinery deal in Nigeria.Kazakhstan alone accounted for nearly 20% of China’s total BRI spending, while Latin America saw its lowest investment inflow in ten years. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX