China needs to come up with a new narrative for its marquee Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) if it wants the mega-project to reap financial and political dividends, a visiting international business scholar has said.

University of Michigan economist Linda Lim said the BRI in its current form is viewed by participating countries as exploitative and not mutually beneficial, and would be unlikely to enhance China’s soft power.

“BRI projects are financially and politically risky. In economic terms, it will be difficult to make money on them… In foreign policy terms, they have so far made China more unpopular than popular in most BRI countries,” Professor Lim said yesterday.

She was speaking at a seminar on challenges facing the BRI, organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

Prof Lim, who is also RSIS’ NTUC Professor of International Economic Relations, is visiting the school for a few weeks and giving a series of lectures.

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