The United States’ position as the world’s leading hub in subsea networks can no longer be taken for granted. More of the world is coming online, and China is emerging rapidly as a leading subsea cable provider and owner. This guide for policymakers describes subsea cables’ essential functions, planning processes, and common threats; explains the U.S. economic and strategic interests at stake; and offers recommendations for protecting U.S. centrality in subsea networks.
Mar 9, 2021
This report, the third in a series on Chinese economic activities in the Western Balkans, provides recommendations for U.S. and partner responses to China’s growing economic and political influence in the region and a “red flags” checklist to help identify activities that warrant further scrutiny.
Mar 2, 2021
U.S. infrastructure has been dangerously neglected, even as it has become more strategically important with climate change, innovation, and China’s rise. At stake is the United States’ military readiness, national resiliency, and global competitiveness.
Feb 16, 2021
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the world’s most ambitious vision for connectivity, but it is hardly the only vision that matters. Arguably the BRI’s biggest global contribution has been to elevate the importance of connectivity. It has alarmed its competitors by using infrastructure as a tool for influence. It has disappointed its partners by over-promising and under-delivering. While China learns from this experience and recalibrates the BRI, it is giving momentum to competing visions for connectivity that will deliver results during 2021 and the years to come.
Jan 12, 2021
While China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) writ large has been slowing, a trend that predates the pandemic, its digital dimension is accelerating. The CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project and Economics Program look ahead at what is next for China’s BRI and four other emerging trends in 2021.
Jan 11, 2021