With an eye toward illuminating current issues, this report draws from examples throughout history of how states use foreign infrastructure to advance strategic objectives. It shows how China is updating and exercising tactics used by Western powers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and how these issues, and the strategic implications they carry, are likely to intensify in the coming years.
As demand for network bandwidth grows among Belt and Road (B&R) countries, China will exert its technological dominance and set global standards through centrally-coordinated fiber-optic roll-outs, the establishment of data centers, and the deployment of communications, positioning, and observation satellites. Since the original “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “Maritime Silk Road” initiatives, the Chinese government has launched programs specific to the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sector, including the “Information Silk Road” and the “Spatial Information Corridor” to further its ambitions for tech superiority and informational control.
Data sharing could revolutionize the efficiency of the entire global supply chain – from ship to train to truck and beyond.
Advances in technology could unlock new possibilities for transportation and production. Hyperloop promises to shuttle people and goods at over 700 miles per hour. 3D printing could upset traditional production and supply chains. The Internet of Things could dramatically reduce costs by automating and optimizing processes. How might these and other emerging technologies reshape today’s economic geography?