Figure 3
The diagram features a central rectangle labeled “German companies in the Belt and Road Initiative.” Four rectangles are connected to “German companies in the Belt and Road Initiative” with straight lines. The left box is labeled “Presence SSA countries: Networking with African governments.” The top box is labeled “Presence China: HQ of Chinese companies.” The bottom box is labeled “Presence SSA countries: Local branches of Chinese companies.” The right box is labeled “Presence SSA countries: Local Chinese traders and companies.”Four-tiered approach for overcoming the liability of network outsidership in the BRI. Source: Authors’ own work