China’s NDRC to Expand ‘Small but Beautiful’ Projects Under Belt and Road

The shift toward "small but beautiful" projects signals a recalibration of Belt and Road lending away from mega-infrastructure toward lower-ticket, lower-risk deals — a response, in effect, to years of debt-sustainability scrutiny. For partner countries and the financiers backing them, the emphasis on a diversified, sustainable investment and financing system with risk prevention is the operative phrase; it suggests tighter project selection and more blended capital. Whether this framing translates into actual deal flow during the 15th Five-Year Plan period is the open question, particularly in the emerging fields Liang cites.