Central Banking The Belt and Road Initiative 2021 Survey – The impact of Covid‑19 on the BRI The fourth annual Belt and Road Initiative survey reveals that the Covid‑19 pandemic has disrupted many projects despite China remaining committed to financing the initiative, which is expected to support future economic growth and environmental development. By Zhang Jizhong, Rachael King and Christopher Jeffery Old Nisa, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, one of the first Parthian capitals This article is part of The IFF China Report 2021 The Covid‑19 pandemic had a stark effect on global GDP growth last year. In April 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the global economy contracted by 3.3% in 2020 – the steepest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The plunge in economic output was the result of social distancing measures implemented to contain the novel coronavirus, which in turn caused supply chain disruptions and major project delays. Most governments worldwide have also been forced to take on substantially more debt to fund Covid‑19 emergency healthcare measures, as well as economic crisis-fighting policies aimed at limiting the immediate economic and social costs of lockdowns.