The researchers looked at how global trade affects water resources, focusing on countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from 2005-2015. They found that the BRI countries use a lot of virtual water, which can contribute to water scarcity worldwide. When they considered water scarcity, the water footprint of BRI countries significantly increased. Economic and population growth, rather than efficiency improvements, drove this. The BRI countries mainly export virtual water, but this is decreasing. It's crucial to improve how countries trade and work together to manage water resources to combat water scarcity in BRI nations.