China’s $1 Trillion American Hubris
![Chinese workers work on a train; trillion](https://i0.wp.com/reconasia.csis.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/chinas_american_hubris-scaled-e1619799027896.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
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.
Header Image: PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images