World leaders have descended on Beijing for what has been billed as the country's "most important" diplomatic event this year.

Key points: More than 120 countries and 29 international organisations back the Belt and Road Initiative

More than 120 countries and 29 international organisations back the Belt and Road Initiative Switzerland and Peru are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding within days

Switzerland and Peru are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding within days China will aim to make initiatives sustainable and prevent debt risks, finance minister says

China is hosting its second Belt and Road Forum — the first being in 2017 — from April 25-27 to further promote and reaffirm support for President Xi Jinping's trillion-dollar global trade initiative.

And while there was no summit held in 2018, many developments have been taking place in the meantime as the initiative continues to evolve from what's been described as "a genius marketing ploy" into a foreign policy and economic framework that's slammed by many Western powers as a way to spread Beijing's influence abroad and saddle developing countries with unsustainable debt.

China's Finance Minister Liu Kun on Thursday allayed some of the debt-trap concerns associated with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by launching a debt sustainability framework for participating nations at one of the 12 sub-forums focusing on practical cooperation.

Nearly 40 foreign leaders and 5,000 representatives from 150 countries are on this year's guest list, including President Ueli Maurer of Switzerland, which is expected to be the second Western European nation to sign an accord backing the initiative after Italy broke away and pledged their support last month.

Peru's ambassador to China also confirmed the South American nation will officially commit to what Mr Xi has dubbed as "the project of the century" in the coming days.

So far, 126 countries and 29 international organisations have signed cooperation agreements with China.

The Belt and Road Forum aims to portray the initiative as gaining increasing global support, analysts say. ( AP Photo: Andy Wong )

However, Australia maintains it doesn't want to take part, despite Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews attending the forum after breaking ranks with the Federal Government and signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last October.

"We said we'd take our relationship to China to the next level and that is exactly what we've done," Mr Andrews said in a statement.

As Mr Xi's signature foreign policy comes under the spotlight this week, we take a look at which countries have — and haven't — signed on, how the project is evolving and why it's become so controversial.

What is the Belt and Road Initiative?

More than 120 countries have signed cooperation agreements with China. ( ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser )

The BRI was first unveiled by Mr Xi shortly after he was elected as President in 2013, and been described by analysts as one of the largest and most ambitious foreign policy and economic plans in modern history.

Dr Darren Lim, a lecturer in International Relations at the Australian National University, said what President Xi initially labelled as "Belt and Road" was in fact an existing array of infrastructure financing projects that have been going on for some years.

"Belt and Road was initially essentially just a genius marketing ploy," he told the ABC.

"[Mr Xi] gave them this label and this sense of cohesion that was part of his vision of China going out into the world, and the China Dream, not just for the Chinese, but as a leader internationally."

Almost 40 foreign leaders are attending this year's Belt and Road forum. ( AP: Andrea Verdelli )

However, more recently, the BRI has come to be known as Beijing's attempt to revive an ancient network of land and ocean — and now also digital — silk trade routes between Asia and Europe, as well as building new links in Africa, South America and the Middle East.

Billions of dollars have already been spent on new infrastructure projects for roads, railways, ports and maritime corridors across the globe.

Steve Tsang, director of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) China Institute at the University of London, said it was a "complex project" that was meant to support the Chinese economy.

"[This is achieved] by exporting excess capital and infrastructural building capacity to countries that need them, and employing Chinese contractors and workers to build them and send the profit back to China," he explained.

"It is also conceived as a way for China to extend its influence overseas."

Which countries have signed on?

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 29 seconds 1 m 29 s What is China's 'One Belt, One Road' project?

Most of the 126 countries backing Mr Xi's grand plan are developing or least-developed countries like Cambodia, Laos and Libya while other Australia's allies like New Zealand has also joined on for various reasons.

A list of 20 BRI participants Albania

Albania Bangladesh

Bangladesh Cambodia

Cambodia Croatia

Croatia Egypt

Egypt Indonesia

Indonesia Italy

Italy Iraq

Iraq Jamaica

Jamaica Kenya Laos

Laos Malaysia

Malaysia New Zealand

New Zealand Pakistan

Pakistan Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea Russia

Russia Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Thailand

Thailand Turkey

Turkey Vanuatu

Michael Shoebridge, the director of defence and strategy at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said Italy's recent endorsement of the BRI can have the effect of undercutting the stronger EU public position on the Chinese state, which was deliberately released by the EU before Mr Xi's recent visit in March.

"This new EU China policy recognises the Chinese state as 'an economic competitor in the pursuit of technological leadership, and a systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance'," he said.

"The EU policy position on the BRI takes this into account, and so looks very much like Australia's national approach."

But even as the BRI receives increasing backing — including from our neighbours Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tonga — experts say it is unlikely that Australia as a nation would ever join the BRI.

Mr Shoebridge said the current Federal Government position is "very sustainable" because it's based in our national interest and lines up with other countries who have similar assessments — notably Japan, under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neil signed up to the BRI last year. ( Reuters: Andrea Verdelli )

He said that while the Australian Government supported infrastructure development, "the business proposals need to be transparent, the financial viability needs to be there and the underlying intent needs to be clear."

"Signing up in a symbolic way to a big, open-ended program that simply enhanced the initiative to another state that we don't have shared strategic interests with is a bad idea," he said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week insisted that all parties are welcome to take part in the China's flagship initiative, but experts widely agree that not every country would want to sign up.

What exactly have they agreed to by signing?

The Belt and Road initiative is Chinese President Xi Jinping's most important foreign policy. ( AP: Aaron Favila )

Many countries, including Tonga, Vanuatu and Italy, have signed a document called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which have vague language on cooperation, win-win partnerships and "synergy".

The Victorian Government's agreement refers to something called "the Silk Road spirit", while New Zealand's speaks of "dialogue and fusion among civilisations".

There are no legal ramifications for China or the countries which have signed up if either withdrew from the agreement.

Dr Lim said countries signed the MOUs to indicate that they are broadly supportive of the initiative and wanted to be involved.

"They don't commit on either side to anything concrete, and the major concerns that Western governments have in relation to Belt and Road relate specific projects," he said.

While the US has been sceptical about the BRI ambitions, China has signed deals with many of their traditional allies, including Australia, Japan, Spain an the Netherlands — just not branded under the controversial BRI.

A major criticism against China's Belt and Road plan is the lack of quality control and brand management, but Chinese state media says this year's forum will be seeking to promote "high-quality development".

Beijing officials are also reportedly drafting rules on which projects can be called "Belt and Road", to prevent the BRI brand being diluted by unsuccessful projects, according to the Guardian.

Why are countries worried about Xi's plan?

Sorry, this video has expired What happens when developing countries can't repay their Chinese loans?

Dr Lim said concerns around the BRI has always been there, but the concerns have grown over the years as China as a country is "sparking more worry".

While the BRI was "a marketing triumph" in the early years — showcasing China's economic rise and its vision for an interconnected world under Chinese leadership — Dr Lim said that image has been tarnished by poor performance of the projects, corruption, and rising concerns about China's political influence and strategic impact.

"Recipient governments and recipient countries … have changed their perception towards the Belt and Road to recognise that it is not an unambiguous good, that it has a lot of trade-offs associated with it," he said.

While the BRI provides critical infrastructure funding to developing countries, critics have also warn of unsustainable debt, a lack of transparency and "debt-trap" diplomacy.

Sri Lanka agreed to hand over a port to China to help pay down its debts. ( Wikimedia Commons )

A case in point was when Sri Lanka was forced to hand over the strategic port of Hambantota on a 99-year lease in 2017 after the country failed to pay off its Chinese loans.

"The examples of the economic problems, poorly thought through investment and loans have are multiplying," Mr Shoebridge said.

Australia has resisted joining the BRI as national security figures have expressed serious "strategic" consequences if Australia formally signed up.

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The United States are also suspicious about the Belt and Road, saying it's a vehicle for China to exert its influence in the region.

As doubts grow over China's vast plan, Western powers are also pushing ahead with their own strategies that to rival the BRI.

Last July, Australia, Japan and the United States confirmed they will set up a regional infrastructure scheme, which would offer countries in the Indo-Pacific region an alternative to Beijing.

The European Commission last September also released a report titled Connecting Europe and Asia: Building Blocks for an EU Strategy.

Just like Australia's infrastructure scheme with Japan and the US, the EU report does not specifically mention the Belt and Road, but some analysts say the plan is the EU's bold move to rival Beijing's Belt and Road.

'Xi's legitimacy dependant on success of BRI'

More countries signing onto the Belt and Road is a "positive headline" for Mr Xi. ( Chinatopix/AP )

Analysts believe the Belt and Road forums Beijing hosts are designed to promote the initiative and portray it as gaining increasing global support.

Mr Shoebridge said attendance by foreign leaders and representatives was important for China in portraying the initiative as gathering momentum.

"It's part of portraying China as a growing global power," he said.

"People are increasingly understanding that [the BRI] is not really just an economic set of initiatives, it's a strategic and political package as well."

And Beijing's plans have clearly worked — Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell Fontelles told the South China Morning Post this week that the BRI demonstrated that China was no longer a developing country but a world power.

Dr Lim, who also co-hosts the Australia in the World podcast, said one of China's main goal for the BRI was for it to be labelled as a "success".

"[It's a] signature international initiative of Mr Xi's, so his legitimacy in part depends upon its success," he said.

"Now success can be defined in many different ways, and it's more important that it be viewed as a success at home than abroad, but both matter."