Karim Al-Wadi

Belt and Road Initiative: China's 21st Century Plan for Eurasia

Curtis S. Chin, Mishaal Al Gergawi, Karim Al-Wadi, James McCormack, V. Shankar, Tariq Shaikh, JC Bork

Launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the One Belt, One Road initiative mobilizes a multi-trillion-dollar financial ecosystem including the AIIB and Silk Road Fund to modernize global trade corridors and address China's domestic overcapacity. The strategy counters Western geopolitical withdrawal by establishing extensive land and maritime infrastructure while securing energy routes through diplomatic and military expansions, such as the base in Djibouti. Although facing opposition from nations like India and Japan and concerns regarding debt sustainability, the project is projected to redefine 21st-century geopolitics by creating a multipolar Eurasian network reliant on China's centralized 50-year planning horizon.