Railway workers inspect a Kenya Railways freight train before departure from the port station in Mombasa, Kenya, on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018.

China will likely speed up infrastructure projects in its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative amid trade tensions with the United States, Citi said in a report Tuesday.

Several Chinese companies and various sectors, including mining and transportation, are poised to benefit from that development, the report said.

The Asian giant announced the BRI in 2013, aimed at recreating and modernizing ancient Silk Road trade routes. It has become the signature foreign policy program of Chinese President Xi Jinping's government.

The program is an ambitious infrastructure project aimed at connecting more than 60 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East through overland and maritime routes.

But it has been widely criticized, amid concerns that the high debt incurred for projects might become unsustainable for countries such as Sri Lanka, and others could face risks due to political changes, including those in Malaysia.

China has elevated the program to a top national strategy, Citi said, adding that tensions with the U.S. mean Beijing is prepared to take a different approach in the construction projects in order to expand its influence in countries that are part of the initiative.

China will likely "escalate the loan and shorten the project approval" process to quicken the pace of infrastructure building "so as to diversify trade and economic activities there away from the U.S.," Citi analysts said in the report.

"We believe the BRI will primarily benefit the railway sector, given China's distinct advantages globally in terms of technology and cost in railway infrastructure," they said, noting that building of power plants, telecommunications facilities and ports should also increase.