Antonio Graceffo

Beyond the Belt and Road Antonio Graceffo

Spanning more than 100 nations and projected to cost more than US$1 trillion dollars, the Belt and Road Initiative, China's global infrastructure connectivity project, claims to be liberating the world from US domination. Many international institutions have warned member countries that liberation through the BRI comes with the cost of crippling debt and a loss of sovereignty. Chinese President Xi Jinping has attempted to allay these concerns by stating that the BRI "is not a Chinese "conspiracy," but rather a new platform for international cooperation to benefit peoples along the routes. In addition to asking whether or not the BRI is good for the world, another prominent question is whether China can actually fund and complete the largest project ever undertaken by any nation in human history. This book offers a region by region analysis of the BRI, examining the current state of both the projects and China's relations across the globe.