“Eurasia is thus the chessboard on which the struggle for global primacy continues to be played,” the late Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote two decades ago. His words ring true again as a massive infrastructure competition unfolds across the Eurasian supercontinent. If the roads, railways, and other connections that are emerging today shift flows of goods, people, and ideas, the long-term implications could be profound. This collection includes essays from our Big Questions series, in which leading experts examine this potentially epochal shift.
Nov 6, 2017
Quotes and Quotas is a weekly digest of phrases and facts that help explain Asia’s infrastructure push.
Oct 12, 2017
Earlier this month, the leaders of Japan and India paused to lay the foundation stone for a high-speed railway. Shinzo Abe was visiting Narendra Modi’s home state, where a 500-kilometer bullet train using Japanese financing and technology will link Mumbai and the industrial city of Ahmedabad. Modi called Japan “a true friend” and the train a “symbol of new India.” Abe agreed, saying, “The project symbolizes India-Japan friendship.” It also illustrates the high-stakes competition underway to connect the Eurasian supercontinent. China has stolen the spotlight, but other regional powers are not standing still.
Sep 27, 2017
“I really like China” a diplomat told us a few months ago, “they are the only ones around with a plan for the 21st century.” That plan – China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) – has, however, raised ample concern, from Asia all the way to the Berlin and Washington.
Sep 18, 2017
According to a report issued by Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, in August, Xi Jinping in addition to his role as Party Secretary, President, Chair of the Central Military Commission, and of about half of the all-important Small Leading Groups which co-ordinate policy, is also China’s “Story Teller in Chief.”
Sep 11, 2017