The impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on container shipping connectivity enjoyed by the countries along the route

The impact of the Belt and Road Initiative（BRI） on container shipping connectivity is studied based on 2010～2020 panel data from 127 counties along the route. The time-varying difference-in-differences model is used for the research. The findings are as follows: the BRI has significantly accelerated the development of container shipping connectivity between China and the countries along the route and the effect of acceleration went up every year; the parallel trend test and a series of robustness tests proved the robustness of the conclusion; the heterogeneity analysis shows that BRI have mainly improved sea shipping connectivity between China and European and Oceania countries; the effect is more significant for developing countries.