According to a study conducted by the Global Development Policy Center at Boston Univerity, China has significantly reduced the scale of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) financing in recent years as part of a strategic shift that has seen Beijing focus on more "small [and] beautiful" projects (i.e. those that are lower value and higher quality) while avoiding projects on indigenous lands and at-risk habitats, the South China Morning Post reported Jan. 26.

In 2020-2021, China allocated just $10.5 billion in BRI development financing via 28 new loans, compared with $498 billion via 1,099 new loans across all of 2008-2021. Meanwhile, 66% of projects financed by China during the 2018-2021 period did not overlap with indigenous people's lands, key habitats or nationally protected areas.