China’s flagship foreign policy effort could reshape the world’s digital, trade, and transport networks and political ties for decades to come.
The volume of EU-China cargo traffic traveling the Eurasian Economic Union’s (EAEU) railways is growing rapidly, a trend that is likely to continue in the short term. However, according to a new report by the Eurasian Development Bank’s Centre for Integration Studies, the EAEU and its neighboring countries will need to further expand transport infrastructure and remove a number of barriers to keep the momentum going.
A close look at the characteristics of China’s port projects in the Indo-Pacific suggests that rather than resulting in “win-win” economic prosperity, they are generating political leverage, increasing Beijing’s military presence, and reshaping the strategic operating environment in China’s favor.
This week in Washington is for global economy wonks what fashion week in Paris is for the best dressed. With roundtables instead of runways, the World Bank’s annual spring meetings and the events around them shape and reflect trends, some longer standing than others. As in years past, there will be calls for equitable growth, inclusive growth, sustainable growth, and responsible growth. Simple growth, simply put, is not in style.
China’s $1 trillion push to build infrastructure across Asia evokes romantic comparisons to the ancient Silk Road, but there is a more recent chapter of history that urges caution. More than a century and a half ago, the United States was a rising power racing westward, building transcontinental railways that delivered limited benefits and exacted a high cost from society. Today, China has taken on that role. The parallels are striking — and troubling.
China has embarked on the most ambitious infrastructure project in modern world history. It’s called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and it spans three continents and covers almost 60 percent of the world’s population. It’s how China plans to become the world’s next superpower.